Seattle man convicted of groping woman on airplane

A federal jury on Tuesday found Keith Witt, 55, guilty of abusive sexual contact aboard an aircraft. Prosecutors said Witt molested the woman in August 2023 during a flight from Billings, Montana, to Seattle.

The victim was in the window seat, and Witt was seated next to her.

“Witt engaged the victim in conversation immediately upon boarding,” according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. “The victim testified that he asked a number of personal questions that made her uncomfortable and touched her shoulder and earbuds, invading her space. The victim decided to feign sleep to avoid having to interact further.”

The victim moved as far toward the wall of the plane as she could, the release said. But then she felt Witt’s hand move to her seat.

“Then he touched her thigh and, after pausing, continued to move his hand up to the hem of her shorts towards her genitalia,” the release said. “The victim flinched, and Witt would remove his hand, only to move it slowly back a few moments later.”

The victim opened one eye and noticed that Witt was masturbating. She reported the incident to the flight crew and closed herself in the restroom, according to the release. She then texted her mother about what happened.

The flight attendants moved Witt to a seat in the back of the plane, and the flight crew alerted authorities at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Assistant United States Attorney Rachel Yemini said during closing arguments that the victim’s testimony was corroborated by others on the plane who saw she was upset and crying.

“There is no motive for [the victim] to fabricate the story,” Yemini said. “She suffered the consequences: she had to talk to the flight attendant; she had to talk to the detectives; she had to come to court and describe what happened to her to strangers. She had no motive to fabricate these allegations.”

Witt had testified that any contact was inadvertent as he had fallen asleep, authorities said.

But Assistant United States Attorney Brian Wynne said that the testimony was not credible.

“He was testing boundaries, pressing those boundaries … he does not want to bring attention to himself … he is trying to do it slowly and methodically. That is evidence of his intent.”

Witt is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22.

Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here.