A man accused of inappropriately touching a woman on an airline flight asked a federal judge Monday for access to a week's worth of information from his accuser's Facebook page.
A federal prosecutor opposed the subpoena served on Facebook, calling it a fishing expedition and an invasion of the woman's privacy. But attorneys for Ranchhodbhai Lakha, 62, of Sandy Springs said the woman's postings and messages from her Facebook account may include evidence that could be used to defend their client.
U.S. Magistrate Alan Baverman said he would soon decide whether to allow Lakha's lawyers to get all the information they want, but he said they first must turn over to him what they had already obtained from the woman's Facebook page. The defense lawyers, Manny Arora and Bruce Morris, must then tell Baverman during a private meeting why they want any additional information, the judge said.
During the hearing, Baverman weighed the safeguards provided under the Crime Victims' Rights Act against the Sixth Amendment guarantee that allows Lakha to confront his accuser at trial.
Lakha, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged with sexual abuse, abusive sexual conduct and assault.
During a Sept. 28 Delta Air Lines flight from Dallas to Atlanta, the woman fell asleep and was awakened when Lakha began touching her below the waist, U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said in a statement. The woman removed Lakha's hand and told him to stop, Yates said.
"Is that okay -- you don't like that?" Yates says the woman alleges Lakha asked. The woman said no and recoiled her body, but Lakha reached down and touched her again, Yates said. At that point, the woman reported the alleged assault to a flight attendant.
When the 25-year-old woman found out Lakha's lawyers had served the subpoena on Facebook, she objected, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Plummer said Monday. The subpoena seeks her "wall posts, notes, chat history, sent and received inbox messages, posted links, photo comments, user photos, status messages and status updates" from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3.
Plummer also said the woman previously told prosecutors she had befriended a man on Facebook in late October and then became suspicious when he began asking her about the Sept. 28 flight. An FBI agent interviewed the man, who said he knew Lakha but said the defendant had not put him up to it, Plummer said.
The woman now believes her privacy is being invaded further by the request for her Facebook information, the prosecutor said.
A few hours after the alleged incident, the woman posted on her Facebook page a discussion with her brother about what she had had to eat. Lakha's lawyers believe this could be used as evidence to impeach the woman's statement she was upset about the alleged assault, court filings say. The woman has consented that this information can be turned over to the defense, Plummer said.
Plummer said it is not unusual for victims of sex crimes to be reluctant to immediately share information about an assault after it happened. Both the flight attendant and pilot of the flight previously testified the woman was visibly shaken after she reported the alleged assault, he said.
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