Man returning from honeymoon ‘groped student on flight’ after seeing her take sleeping pills, court hears

Woman alleges that touching went on for two hours

Incident occurred on a United flight (Getty Images)

A British newlywed has been accused of groping a student on a flight back from his honeymoon in Hawaii.

Robert Jan Van Den Bergh, 37, of Hackney, London, has pleaded not guilty to one count of sexual assault at an ongoing trial at Isleworth Crown Court.

Mr Van Den Bergh had been flying on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow on 31 December, when the woman seated beside him told staff that he had groped her under her blanket.

Prosecutor Sophia Kerridge told the jury: “She woke up four to five hours before the flight was due to land and she noticed something lightly touching her thigh.

“She pretended to be asleep, but saw it as the defendant stroking her and the stroking became stronger and more deliberate.

“He put his hand under the pillow and continued touching her left thigh and continued up towards her buttock.

“She asked to get up and spoke to the cabin crew and asked to be moved because she was uncomfortable sitting next to the defendant as he was touching her.”

The complainant alleges that Mr Van Den Bergh had initially started talking to her after seeing her take a sleeping pill.

“At the beginning of the flight he engaged in small talk with the complainant and observed her taking a couple of sleeping pills and remarked that could lead to unconsciousness,” said Ms Kerridge.

Mr Van Den Bergh was returning to London from his honeymoon in Hawaii, via Los Angeles, with his wife travelling on a different flight back to the UK the same night.

“I realised two hours in it was probably on purpose what he was doing and put an airline pillow between us,” the complainant told the jury.

“The pressure would increase over time and move around up to where my underwear was. It would stop for a few seconds and start again.

“It was under the blanket. It was the man sitting next to me.

“It started in the middle of my thigh, but moved around for the one and a half to two hours it was. I was too scared to look and sort of trapped in the seat and not sure what to do.”

A cabin crew member told the jury that the woman had asked to move seats, and when offered an alternative economy seat, she had asked if she could be seated in another class.

Airline staff say she was offered an upgrade for a fee but chose not to pay it, moving instead to an empty row in economy.

Mr Van Den Bergh says he only slept and watched films during the flight.

He told the court that he was removed from the plane on arrival by armed officers and held on the air bridge for questioning.