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Woman groped on plane seeks advice on Twitter

"You can't grab women on a plane, guy."

Nicole Gallucci

on October 24, 2016

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

During a recent flight, a passenger by the name of Ariana Lenarsky used Twitter to call attention to a serious issue.

Lenarsky, a Los Angeles-based performer and podcast producer, opened up to her thousands of followers on Oct. 22 to share a harrowing personal experience that occurred mid-air as she was flying from Austin, Texas.

As Lenarsky was walking down the aisle of the airplane, a male passenger allegedly "grabbed and stroked" her calf. The incident greatly upset Lenarsky, and she decided to turn to her Twitter followers for comfort and advice.

Since the incident occurred while Lenarsky was in the air, the ways in which she could respond were limited.

Lenarsky decided to share her experience through a series of tweets and wrote that in response to the man's actions, she took his photograph. Though Lenarsky claimed she initially had no intention of posting it online, she said she hoped the violation of privacy would scare the man.

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Lenarsky told her Twitter followers that upon telling the flight attendants a man had "harassed" her, they knew exactly to whom she was referring, because another woman had complained to them about him earlier.

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Realizing she still had an hour and a half left on the plane, Lenarsky asked her Twitter followers for advice on how to further handle the situation. She questioned whether she should tag the airline in her messages or tweet the man's photograph, before ultimately deciding to speak to the flight attendants again.

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The flight attendants reportedly told Lenarsky that they were filing a report with the airline and had informed the captain of the incidents. Lenarsky simply wrote: "I feel depressed."

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Upon landing, local authorities arrived and escorted the man off the plane, she said. The police then reportedly took statements from Lenarsky and the other woman, who alleged the same man who harassed Lenarsky tried to kiss her.

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Though the flight crew seemed to be very helpful, Lenarsky said she received a somewhat disappointing response from authorities. The fact that the incident took place in the sky meant the FBI would have to get involved, which discouraged the other woman from pressing charges.

Lenarsky was informed by authorities that if she intended to press charges she would have to pay for a flight back to Austin and inform the Austin Police Department. She decided she didn't want to do this.

A frustrated Lenarsky went on to explain that the police assured her they would give the man "a talking to," and then allegedly downplayed the severity of the incident by telling her, "it's not the crime of the century."

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In response to police reactions, Lenarsky decided since the crime was "no big deal," there was no reason why she shouldn't share the photograph of the man with the public. She promptly tweeted the photograph, with the caption, "You can't grab women on a plane, guy. You can't do it. Hope you get the help you need." The photo has since been retweeted more than 10,000 times.

Lenarsky's Twitter followers reacted to the series of tweets with outrage, condemning the man's actions and supporting her handling of the incident:

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After speaking with authorities, Lenarsky thanked her followers for the support, describing the experience as "exhausting, ridiculous, and embarrassing." Though she has yet to tweet about the incident again, she mentioned that she would probably formulate more thoughts about it later in the week.