Following a four-day trial and about five hours of deliberation, jurors reached guilty verdicts and a Mercer Island man was convicted on Sept. 13 of attempted sexual abuse of a minor on an aircraft.

According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Western District of Washington press release, Munir Walji, 72, groped a 15-year-old girl on a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Seattle on Nov. 10, 2021.

The trial occurred in the U.S. District Court in Seattle and U.S. District Judge Tana Lin scheduled Walji’s sentencing for Dec. 11. The press release notes that the two convictions of attempted sexual abuse of a minor in special aircraft jurisdiction and abusive sexual contact in special aircraft jurisdiction are punishable by up to 15 and two years in prison, respectively. Lin will determine Walji’s sentence after considering sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Walji is currently out on a personal recognizance bond, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. There was no cash bail in this case and Walji was required to make check-ins with pretrial services and more.

Case records and trial testimony note that Walji was sitting in the aisle seat, while the victim sat in the middle and her mother took the window seat of the same row. They all engaged in small talk before the flight took off, and when the plane lifted into the air the mother and victim fell asleep.

After the victim was awakened when she felt a hand on her leg as the flight neared its Seattle arrival, she moved away from Walji and attempted to return to sleep.

The press release reads that “the touching became more aggressive with Walji rubbing her thigh, and then unbuckling her seatbelt and reaching inside the waistband of her pants and underwear.” Walji stopped after the victim said something to him and then awakened her mother, who pushed the call button to alert a flight attendant. The mother and victim were eventually moved to another row and flight attendants notified law enforcement, who arrested Walji upon the flight’s arrival in Seattle.

Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne and Special Assistant United States Attorney Laura Harmon are prosecuting the case. In her role as a senior King County deputy prosecutor, Harmon is specially designated to prosecute sex crimes in federal court.

In an Aug. 9, 2023, press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, it was noted that four Western District of Washington federal cases — including Walji’s — were filed regarding reports of sexual assault and misconduct on aircraft.

“We take these cases seriously and work with the FBI to investigate and prosecute them. Federal prison is the destination for those convicted of sexual abuse on an aircraft,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.