Drunk dad who grabbed a teenage girl’s thigh and stroked another’s hair on flight narrowly avoids jail
A SLEAZY Scots dad who touched two teenage girls on a flight while drunk has narrowly avoided being locked up.
Craig Wylie, 28, grabbed one girl's thigh twice and stroked another's hair as he flew from Accra in Ghana to .
The dad-of-one, from Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, necked five pints before boarding the flight - and was drinking whisky on board.
Wylie - who claims not to remember the incidents - pleaded guilty to two charges of and was slapped with an 18-week suspended sentence.
He was also ordered to pay £750 to each of the teens.
Wylie had been working in Ghana before he returned to the UK and was seated next to his first victim and spoke to her early on the flight.
But the 17-year-old, who fell asleep after take off, woke to find the engineer's hand on her thigh - which she removed.
Moments later, he grabbed her other thigh before proceeding to try and put his earphone in her ear and put his whisky glass to her mouth.
The girl, who then moved seat, was so traumatised by the incident she sometimes wakes in a panic believing his hand to be on her leg.
Later on the flight, Wylie reached from behind a 16-year-old girl and touched her hair. She reported him to cabin crew and he was arrested after landing.
According to , prosecutor Zara Khan told Uxbridge Magistrates Court: "He said he had drunk five pints of alcohol before the flight. He likes to drink before getting on a flight as it helps him sleep."
She then read a statement from the first victim, which said: "This man told me he was an engineer and had been out in Ghana for two weeks working.
"He commented on how young I looked and I told him I was 17.
"He seemed chatty and friendly but was swearing a lot.
";After about ten minutes, while we were up in the air, I stopped talking to him and put my headphones on.
"I was trying to sleep and had my blanket over me.
"At approximately 11:15pm I woke up and opened my eyes and saw that this man had his hand on my right thigh.
"I immediately grabbed his hand by the wrist and put it towards him and off me.
" The male did not say anything when I did this.
"On this occasion, I accepted it may have been accidental. I did feel uncomfortable and sat in such a way that my left leg was over my right thigh.
"The male smelled of alcohol and I believed he was drunk because he was swearing and chatting a lot."
Victim, 17
"The male then grabbed my left thigh. I immediately put it off me.
"The man grabbed my left earphone out of my ear.
"When the male took out my left headphone he then tried to put his own headphones in my ear.
"The male then moved his earphone towards my ear.
";I moved my hand to block him and told him to stop.
"I remember he was drinking whisky and put his cup towards my mouth but I said no.
"The male smelled of alcohol and I believed he was drunk because he was swearing and chatting a lot."
Khan then read a statement from the second victim, who reported Wylie's actions to cabin crew.
Her statement said: "I was slightly leaning forward and this male suddenly stretched his arm out.
"He lifted his hand and stroked my hair. It felt like he was rubbing my head.
"I told him to stop and then pushed his arm off me.
"I did not say anything on this occasion but went straight and spoke to a cabin crew.
"I cannot say if the touching was sexual but I did make me feel very uncomfortable."
Mitigating, Ranveer Authwall said: "He had consumed alcohol before boarding the flight and consumed further alcohol on board.
"Although he has no recollection he has not sought to deny or minimise his behaviour in any way.
"He is deeply remorseful and very ashamed that he is before the court for these offences."
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Chairman of the Bench Martin Ricketts concluded the hearing by adding: "We have given this matter a lot of consideration because it is a serious offence. The custody threshold has been crossed.
"The sentence for both offences will be 26 weeks custody to run concurrently however we are reducing this to 18 weeks custody because of your early guilty pleas.
"Also we are suspending the sentence for two years because immediate custody would result in significant impact on your young family and there is a realistic possibility of your rehabilitation."
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