Indian brought to US from Afghanistan for trial on assault charges
Man charged with allegedly sexually assaulting an American woman
New York: An Indian man working for the US in Afghanistan has been brought to Washington to be tried on charges that he allegedly sexually assaulted an American woman there, according to Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski.
Lokesh Naik, 35, allegedly carried out the attack on a 24-year-old American woman at the Operating Base Fenty in Afghanistan while working for a US military contractor, the Justice Department said on Monday.
The alleged incident took place in August and he was arrested on November 8 in Afghanistan and produced through video-conferencing before Federal Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey in Washington.
The judge ordered him to be brought back the US to face trial and he landed in a military plane at a base in New Jersey.
Although the alleged assault took place in Afghanistan, a Washington grand jury, which is a citizens' panel that examines allegations, decided to issue the charges against him on November 6 after determining there was a prima facie case to try him.
The Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act allows trial in the US for crimes committed on American military facilities abroad.