A man has been charged with indecently assaulting a woman as she slept on board a flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne earlier this week.

Mounir Botros, 71, is accused of touching the woman inappropriately and reaching inside her clothes as she tried to sleep during the flight on September 22.

The woman reported the alleged assault to airline staff, who moved her to a different seat for the remainder of the flight and alerted the Australian Federal Police.

AFP officers met the flight when it landed in Australia, interviewing Botros and witnesses before charging the 71-year-old with committing an act of indecency without consent.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.

Botros appeared at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, where his lawyer, Sarah Condon

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