News and Press Releases
Reno, Nevada, man sentenced for assaulting woman on flight to Minnesota
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 11, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS – Earlier today in federal court, an 84-year-old man from Reno, Nevada,
was sentenced for assaulting a paramedic-respiratory specialist while traveling to Rochester,
Minnesota, via a private airplane. United States Chief Magistrate Judge Arthur J. Boylan
sentenced Robert M. Lee to 180 days of probation, including 30 days of home confinement,
along with 60 hours of community service at a Nevada humane society. He was also ordered to
pay a $5,000 fine and provide the victim $431.25 in restitution along with a letter of apology. In
imposing the sentence, Magistrate Judge Boylan called Lee’s behavior “arrogant and offensive.”
Lee was charged on June 13, 2011. On July 1, 2011, he pleaded guilty to on one count of
misdemeanor assault. The case was brought in federal court because the offense occurred while
the aircraft was in flight.
Court documents filed in this case state that on September 21, 2010, Lee was traveling to a
hospital in Rochester while under the care of a paramedic and a registered nurse. When the
paramedic assisted Lee in returning to his seat, he grabbed and twisted her breast, causing her
injury. When the woman told Lee not to touch her, he replied, “I can do whatever I want. This is
my airplane.”
This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was
prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura M. Provinzino and John R. Marti.
