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A 21-year-old American Samoa man who admitted that he groped a woman aboard his return flight from a Mormon mission in the Philippines must perform 200 hours of community service for assaulting the woman.
A federal judge sentenced Luavalu Seuvaai to two years of probation Wednesday and imposed the community service as a condition of the probation.
Seuvaai spent five days in custody following his Aug. 16 arrest at Honolulu Airport.
Through an interpreter, Seuvaai apologized to his family and the community and told U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry M. Kurren that he has learned his lesson.
The 42-year-old woman told investigators she was seated next to Seuvaai aboard a Hawaiian Airlines flight to Honolulu from Manila. She said Seuvaai repeatedly touched her after she took a spoonful of NyQuil and fell asleep. She said she called a flight attendant after Seuvaai touched her breast underneath her bra.
