Man Convicted of Groping Woman on Flight to Dallas

Federal officials say a 65-year-old man from Oklahoma was found guilty of groping another passenger on a Southwest Airlines flight to Dallas Love Field. After a one-day hearing on June 4 in a federal court in North Texas, William R. McKelvy of Tulsa was found guilty of abusive sexual contact.

As per a news statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office, the event happened in April 2023, while the flight was on its way to Dallas. McKelvy was sitting next to a woman and touched her improperly several times, including groping her breast and inner thigh.

When McKelvy touched the woman for the first time, she thought it was an accident and didn't say anything. After a few minutes, he felt her again, and this time she pushed his hand away and told him to stop. Even though she told him not to, McKelvy touched her a third and fourth time.

The woman then yelled, "Get your (expletive) hand off of me, or I will break your (expletive) hand!" This made other people in the car step in and help. Someone told a flight attendant what happened, and McKelvy was moved to the back of the plane for the rest of the trip.

Police officers met the plane when it arrived at Dallas Love Field Airport after working with the flight crew. McKelvy was caught and jailed.

"People should not have to worry about being attacked while traveling," U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said in the release. "We are grateful that the victim was brave and that other passengers and crew acted quickly."

McKelvy will be given a sentence at a later time. He could spend up to two years in federal jail for this crime.