Dad of 4 Traveling With Wife & Kids Allegedly Reached Between Seats To Grope Teen Girl on Plane

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A teen girl’s quick thinking has led to the arrest of an alleged predator who sexually assaulted her on a flight from Puerto Rico to Boston. Jonathan Alan Lefman was flying with his wife and children when he apparently reached in between the seat cushions to grope the 17-year-old. On the last occasion, the girl filmed the man’s fingers reaching in between the front of his seat and the back of hers in an attempt to touch her behind. 

The incident took place on a JetBlue flight on August 30, 2024, prosecutors said, according to the Miami Herald. Still images from the teen’s video have now been released to the public. They show the man’s fingers clearly pointed in between the seats. After the girl took the video of the man’s hand, she also filmed him getting off the plane at Boston Logan International Airport. 

Newton man arrested, charged after 17-year-old captured man grabbing her buttocks through the seat @JetBlue flight bound for Boston from Puerto Rico in August 2024.

Jonathan Lefman is charged with abusive sexual content. U.S. Attorney’s Office says he was traveling with his wife… pic.twitter.com/NLD7ESa0uC

— Stephen Quinn (@stephenquinntv) February 7, 2025

After she deplaned, she told a family member, who was sitting in another row, about what happened. They reported the man, 46, to a JetBlue supervisor. After they got off the plane, the family member confronted the man and his wife, according to the Herald. She not only accused the man of assaulting her relative, but she also showed them the video and told his wife “that she should be concerned about the man’s behavior as she has children.”

According to the affidavit, the girl’s family member told authorities that the man apologized and claimed he was stretching. The same day, the man spoke to the FBI and Massachusetts State Police. His attorney was present during the conversation. Authorities showed him the video and asked if those were his fingers in the video. He responded, “‘I . . . I don’t know. I don’t know,’” the affidavit reads.

The man was arrested on February 7, 2025, according to court records and charged with one count of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the US, per the Herald.

Paul Cirel, his defense attorney, claimed his client is innocent of these allegations. “This is a flight in which he was traveling – and sitting with – his wife and four children throughout its duration,” Cirel said. “We look forward to his full exoneration in court.”

He was released from jail later the same day on certain conditions, including travel being restricted to within the US, unless he gets permission to travel internationally. He’s also required to get medical and psychiatric treatment. If convicted, he could receive up to two years in prison.

“We have zero tolerance for the behavior alleged in this incident and immediately notified law enforcement in Boston,” a JetBlue spokesperson shared in a statement to McClatchy News on February 10. “We continue to assist and cooperate fully with authorities in this case.”