Hawaii Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison for Molesting Minor on an Airplane

WASHINGTON—Curtis Keith Cooper, of Princeville, Hawaii, was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for molesting a minor while aboard a flight from Hawaii to California in July 2003, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii Florence T. Nakakuni.

Cooper, 74, was also sentenced by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Alan C. Kay to serve five years of supervised release following his prison term and to pay $3,098 in restitution. Cooper pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, Hawaii, on Apr. 19, 2010, to one count of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12 years within the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States. He was indicted on those charges on Nov. 19, 2009.

According to court documents, Cooper admitted that on July 12, 2003, during a flight from Hawaii to Northern California, Cooper sat next to a minor who was under 12 years of age. During the flight, the minor started to fall asleep with a blanket over her. Cooper reached under the blanket and committed aggravated sexual abuse by touching the minor inappropriately without her consent.

This case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Anitha Ibrahim of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Butrick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii. This case was investigated by the FBI and the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office.