Vincent Harry Kopacek, Attempted Sexual Abuse, Texas 2024

MISSOULA – A Texas man suspected of sexually assaulting a minor girl while on a flight from Austin, Texas, to Bozeman had an initial appearance on a criminal complaint today, Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson said.

The criminal complaint accuses Vincent Harry Kopacek, 76, of Fredericksburg, Texas, of three federal crimes: attempted sexual abuse of a minor, abusive sexual contact, and assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction.

If convicted of the most serious crime, Kopacek faces a maximum 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto presided over the court hearing, during which Kopacek was detained pending further proceedings.

According to the criminal complaint and documents filed in support of the complaint, on July 9, the FBI was contacted by an officer with the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport Public Safety Office that the previous night, on July 8, a 15-year-old girl had been assaulted while on an aircraft from Austin to Bozeman.

The girl documented the alleged activity with her cell phone, which showed that the assault took place from prior to takeoff in Austin to before landing in Bozeman.

FBI agents arrested Kopacek in Bozeman on July 11 when he checked in for his flight departing the airport.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson is prosecuting the case, which was investigated by the FBI, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport Public Safety Office.

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