Heidi McKinney, 27, is facing three years probation for drunkenly groping a fellow female passenger on board an Alaskan Airlines flight in May of 2016.
What Happened?
Prosecutors are seeking for a sentence of three years probation for assault with intent to commit a felony, a charge that McKinney pleaded guilty to in March. If convicted, this charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
McKinney was reportedly drunk when she boarded the flight from Las Vegas to Portland and sat next to a 19-year-old woman in an empty row. She is said to have tried to force the teen to drink alcohol she had smuggled on board and touched her breasts several times, letting her hands “linger” on the woman’s breasts.
McKinney then tried to put her hands on the other woman’s genitals, licked her ears and then straddled her while teller her, “I want to f—.”
After the teen rejected McKinney, she called her poor and the pair were separated on the plane before McKinney was arrested upon landing. McKinney’s male fiancee later told authorities that she did not “metabolize alcohol” and said “this is what happens when she drinks.”
Prosecutors argued to the court that the victim was permanently traumatized by the attack.
“Miss McKinney did so with the intent to humiliate and harass the victim. (She) both made contact with the victim’s body, including her inner thigh, and made a series of profane and lewd statements to the victim,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Ravi Sinha said in March.
Shortly after the March hearing, McKinney was found unconscious in a bar. Prior court records reveal that she had past convictions for drunk driving in 2008 and 2015.
Heidi McKinney
Heidi McKinney is a 27-year-old who is facing three years probation for drunkenly groping a fellow female passenger on an Alaskan Airlines flight. She was initially charged with abusive sexual contact but pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of assault with intent to commit felony. The maximum sentence she could be given is 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors, however, recommended the probation sentence when they agreed on the deal in March.
