A former soldier has been sentenced to nearly a year in prison after sexually assaulting four members of a Jet2 cabin crew during a flight from Edinburgh to Tenerife.
Drunken mid-air assaults force diversion
Joseph McCabe, a 40-year-old father-of-two from Tollcross, Glasgow, carried out a series of assaults on the morning flight on March 15 last year. The court heard that after cabin crew noticed him making multiple trips to the toilet, his behaviour escalated.
He approached a female flight attendant from behind, touching her buttocks. When she turned around, he was smirking and asked where she had bought her tights because he liked them. McCabe then asked her age and where she lived.
The offences continued as he went on to slap the buttocks of a male steward. He also attempted to hug a second female crew member and placed his hands on a third female employee for around 30 seconds.
Defiant behaviour leads to emergency landing
When the cabin crew issued McCabe with a written warning about his conduct, he ripped it up. His persistent and aggressive behaviour left the flight crew with no choice but to take decisive action.
A decision was made to divert the aircraft from its course to Tenerife. Under instruction from air traffic control, the captain landed at Porto Santo in the Madeira Archipelago so McCabe could be removed. The flight arrived at its final destination two hours late.
Upon landing in Porto Santo, McCabe compounded his situation by getting out of his seat and dancing in the aisle. Portuguese police then boarded the flight, arrested him, and took him into custody.
Sentencing and consequences
At Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month, McCabe, who runs a construction firm and co-owns a party boat business called The Drunken Anchor, pleaded guilty to four sexual offences. He had previously been a private in the Royal Logistic Corps for five years.
On Friday, Sheriff Alison Stirling sentenced him to 46 weeks in prison. She stated the offences involved "a high level of culpability and a high level of harm".
In addition to the jail term, McCabe was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and given non-harassment orders banning him from any contact with the victims indefinitely. The court heard he had also received a £5,000 fine from Jet2, which he refused to pay, and is now banned from flying with the airline for life.
In defence, solicitor Anna Kocela said her client had been drinking excessively due to a family bereavement at the time of the offences.
