Defense seeks Facebook page evidence
Attorneys will ask a federal judge on Monday for access to a woman's Facebook page as potential evidence to be used to defend a man accused of inappropriately touching the woman during a flight to Atlanta.
Ranchhodbhai Lakha 61, of Sandy Springs, stands indicted by a federal grand jury in Atlanta for sexually assaulting the 25-year-old woman on a Delta flight on Sept. 28, 2010. He has pleaded not guilty.
His lawyers recently served a subpoena on Facebook to obtain the woman's "wall posts, notes, chat history, sent and received inbox messages, posted links, photo comments, user photos, status messages and status updates" from Sept. 27, 2010 through Oct. 3, 2010.
The woman, whose identity is being withheld because she is the alleged victim of a sexual assault, does not oppose the release of her wall postings for Sept. 28, prosecutors said in a court filing. But as for the other information requested by the defense, prosecutors said, it is overly broad and an unwarranted invasion of privacy.
About the Author
Bill Rankin has been an AJC reporter for more than 30 years. His father, Jim Rankin, worked as an editor for the newspaper for 26 years, retiring in 1986. Bill has primarily covered the state’s court system, doing all he can do to keep the scales of justice on an even keel. Since 2015, he has been the host of the newspaper’s Breakdown podcast.
