Doctor allegedly groped woman on plane while traveling to propose to his girlfriend
A physician from Georgia has been accused of groping the crotch of a woman sitting next to him on a Delta flight – while en route to Maine to propose to his girlfriend.
Dr. Jake Namjik Cho, a nephrologist in Fayetteville, was aboard Flight 2138 from Atlanta to Portland on March 17 when the alleged incident took place, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Post on Wednesday.
Shortly after the Boeing 737 landed, the woman reported that the suspect had “continuously leaned into her seat area throughout the flight while appearing to be asleep,” according to the federal filing.
He allegedly placed his hand on her thigh and buttocks while touching her feet with his feet.
During some turbulence, he “appeared to have spasmed” and reached into her crotch – then touched her “genitals from outside her pants,” the complaint states.
“Excuse me!” the woman exclaimed, prompting the alleged creep to remove his hand.
“The male passenger appeared to be sleeping or pretending to sleep throughout and did not touch (the woman) after retracting his hand,” according to the complaint.
Two days later, an FBI agent and a federal air marshal interviewed Cho at the Portland airport before his flight back to Atlanta.
The resident of Peachtree City, Georgia, told the feds that he had traveled to Maine to propose to his girlfriend.
He denied touching his accuser and said she never said anything to him, and said he was willing to take a polygraph examination, according to the complaint.
On April 1, the doctor went to the FBI’s office in Portland for another voluntary interview and underwent a polygraph test, officials said.
After the examination, Cho continued to deny that he had touched the woman – then admitted that he had done so, but insisted that his actions were not sexual, the complaint says.
He then explained his actions in a written statement.
“When we got in the air, I began to relax and I stretched my legs. At some point, I touched my left foot against her right foot and maintained the contact until I fell asleep,” he wrote.
“In addition to maintaining the foot contact, I used the contact to keep myself upright as I have shorter legs. I feel (sic) asleep shortly thereafter,” Cho continued.
“When I woke up I was leaning on my left, facing her. At some point I saw her and reached out and grabbed her right upper thight with my hand,” he wrote.
“I intended to only squeeze her upper right thigh and never intended to touch her crotch. Because my glasses were off and it was dark, my hand slipped from her upper thigh to her crotch,” he said.
Cho said the woman “instantly exclaimed something loudly,” prompting him to remove his paw and “sit straight up.”
“I was so embarrassed and did not know what to do so I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep for the remainder of the flight,” he wrote.
FBI Special Agent wrote that there was enough probable cause to believe that Cho “knowingly engaged in abusive sexual contact” with the woman.
If convicted, he faces up to two years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.
Cho graduated from the University of Florida College of Medicine in 2017, according to his online bio. In he completed a residency in internal medicine three years aler.
In 2022, he completed a nephrology fellowship at Maine Medical Center.
A spokesperson at his office told The Post on Wednesday that he had no comment.
Delta did not immediately respond to a call for comment about the incident.
