British tourist, 43, abused male flight attendant by grabbing his buttocks and nipples and had to be restrained by other passengers before being arrested upon landing in Palma

A British man was sentenced to a one-year suspended prison sentence for sexually harassing a flight attendant on a flight to Spain.

43-year-old holidaymaker Mark Turnbull was arrested on suspicion of inappropriately touching the flight attendant’s bottom and nipples during the flight.

He reportedly got up from his seat, approached the flight attendant and touched him “in an indecent manner.”

Other passengers held Turnbull until the plane landed in Mallorca, where he was taken into custody by police.

Upon arrival, Turnbull reportedly became aggressive toward the first officers, requiring additional backup. Despite this, he was not charged with resisting arrest.

Today, a court in Palma officially convicted him of sexual assault and sentenced him to one year in prison, suspended as part of a probation agreement.

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As part of an agreement between Turnbull’s lawyer and the prosecution, the sentence was automatically suspended.

He admitted his wrongdoing via video conference after receiving permission to testify from the UK.

In a pre-trial indictment, the prosecution had demanded a prison sentence of one year and seven months for the British holidaymaker before today’s trial took place as a formality after the agreement was signed.

The indictment states that the tourist approached the flight attendant on board the Ryanair flight to resolve a problem with his credit card “with the intention of undermining his sexual integrity and satisfying his sexual desires.”

It states that “after touching his victim in the chest area on the September 29, 2023 flight,” he “pinched his right nipple and a few moments later took advantage of the fact that the airline employee had her back to him and was standing by the snack and beverage cart and forcibly grabbed his buttocks with both hands.”

In addition to the suspended sentence, Turnbull received a one-year suspended sentence during which he must attend sex education classes.

He was also given a 100-meter security ban, which prohibited him from having contact with the flight attendant for two years.

He is also banned from working with minors for the same period. Should Turnbull reoffend in Spain in the next two years, he will have to serve his suspended prison sentence.

The arrested man was photographed last year being led into court in handcuffs, wearing shorts and a T-shirt, after spending the night in a police cell.

A spokesman for the Guardia Civil in Mallorca said at the time: “I can confirm the arrest of a British man at Palma airport on suspicion of sexual assault. He is alleged to have sexually harassed a flight attendant on a plane from Newcastle to Palma.”

According to local reports, he initially told the investigating judge, who released him on bail pending the investigation, that he had wanted to play a prank on the flight attendant, but later gave contradictory and “incomprehensible” versions of his behaviour.

He was allowed to leave Spain while the criminal investigation against him was ongoing.

The case is one of a series of incidents involving British tourists who were accused of inappropriate behaviour on flights to Spain.

In August last year, another British holidaymaker was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a stewardess on a Jet2 flight from Manchester to Ibiza.

On the same day Turnbull was arrested, four men were removed from an EasyJet flight from Manchester to Tenerife after it was diverted to Lanzarote due to violent behaviour on board.

Spanish air traffic controllers said the diversion was due to violent passengers on board.