Newton father of four charged with groping teen girl in the seat in front of him on a flight from Puerto Rico

A Newton man is scheduled for an appearance in federal court today on a charge that he managed to slide his fingers in between the back and cushion of the seat of a 17-year-old in front of him to finger her buttocks while flying back from Puerto Rico to Logan with his family.

Jonathan Lefman, 46, was arrested today on a charge of abusive sexual contact while in the special aircraft jurisdiction of the United States, the US Attorney's office in Boston reports.

According to an affidavit by an FBI agent assigned to Logan, Lefman, his wife and their four children took up all of Row 31 on JetBlue Flight 62 from San Juan to Boston on Aug. 30. Lefman said in the right-side window seat, behind the teen - herself flying to Boston with several members of her family. The affidavit states:

LEFMAN, on multiple occasions during the flight and while on the ground waiting to deplane in Boston, intentionally worked his hand in between and through the area between the back and bottom of the seat directly in front of him, where a seventeen-year-old female passenger was seated, and touched her buttocks without her permission, thereby engaging in abusive sexual contact.

The affidavit states the teen at first thought the man was simply stretching when she felt fingers, about an hour before landing, but then he kept at it.

Once JBU62 landed at BOS, while still seated and waiting to get off the aircraft, Minor A felt someone or something touch her buttocks again. As she had anticipated this, Minor A had her phone handy. Minor A immediately slid forward in her seat, turned slightly to her right, and starting to record a video with her phone of the area in her seat where her buttocks had been. It was then that Minor A saw a man's fingers come through and into her seat, between seat back and seat bottom. Minor A told the MSP investigator that the fingers belonged to the man seated directly behind her (LEFMAN). Minor A also indicated that the man had touched the backs of her feet with his feet, under the seat.

The agent adds:

I have reviewed the video provided by Minor A. In the video, fingers appearing from their color, size, and shape to belong to a Caucasian male, worked their way in between the seat back and seat bottom of an aircraft seat, into Minor A's seat where her buttocks would have been if seated normally. The fingers appeared to come from under and behind Minor A's seat. Based on the orientation of the fingers and thumb, it appears the fingers belonged to the man's right hand. The fingers appeared to search around the area vacated by Minor A's buttocks for approximately seven or eight seconds before ultimately retreating out of Minor A's seat. The exposed right knee of the individual seated behind Minor A, that is close to and/or in contact with both the back of Minor A's right armrest and the outer wall of the aircraft, appears from color, size, and shape to be that of a Caucasian male, consistent with a male wearing shorts.

As passengers exited the plane, a distraught teen videoed Lefman and his family in the jetway at Terminal C, the affidavit states. Then, as the Lefmans went outside for their ride, the teen and an adult member of her family traveling with her confronted Lefman and his wife - with the woman showing the wife the video the girl had taken. State Police eventually caught up with Lefman and brought him in for questioning.

The affidavit states that during an interview with state troopers and the FBI agent later that day - with his lawyer present - Lefman denied trying to grope the teen. 

When shown the video of the fingers, and asked directly, "So those hands and those fingers that we saw... what are you telling ... those are not your fingers?" he responded, "I. . . I don't know. I don't know."

Innocent, etc.