Married man and divorcee who were arrested for ‘having sex in business class’ during flight have case dismissed

The married father and divorcee arrested over allegedly having sex during a flight in business class have had their case dismissed.

Mauricio C, 54, and Sandra O, 59, were sat in the front rows of business class and had reportedly used a blanket to cover themselves during the lewd act.

The incident occurred aboard a Copa Airlines flight from Panama to Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, in early May. 

Cabin crew allegedly found the pair partially undressed after a woman travelling with her granddaughter alerted a flight attendant when the child noticed movement under the cover.

The captain was notified and requested airport police, who arrested the architect and the care home manager and placed them into custody. 

The pair had reportedly not met prior to the flight and only became acquainted during the journey.

Sandra has claimed cabin crew fabricated the allegations following an argument over a glass of whisky.

Prosecutors ultimately dropped the case because they could not prove the pair acted with the deliberate intent to exhibit themselves or offend public decency.

Sandra (pictured) has claimed cabin crew fabricated the allegations following an argument over a glass of whisky

The captain was notified by cabin crew about the suspected lewd acts and requested airport police, who arrested the architect and the care home manager and placed them into custody

Over a three-month investigation under Argentina’s public indecency statute, prosecutors gathered statements from passengers and crew, PSA reports, and photographs of the aircraft’s interior. 

A woman seated behind them had said that while she saw the pair talking and kissing, she did not see any explicit sexual acts. 

While another passenger statement noted an individual confronting Mauricio after allegedly spotting exposed genitals. 

There was no CCTV in the business-class cabin, leaving no footage of the alleged encounter. 

Sandra’s defence maintained that the incident was fabricated in retaliation after a heated argument with a flight attendant over a glass of whisky during mid-flight turbulence.

Prosecutor María Cecilia Marcolin Loberse, of Rosario’s Specialised Unit for Gender Violence and Sexual Offences, officially dismissed the investigation.

Her ruling established that the conduct failed to meet the legal threshold for criminal obscenity. 

Under Argentine law, being seen by third parties in a shared space is insufficient to secure a conviction; the statute strictly requires a proven, deliberate intention to expose oneself or offend the modesty of others.

The prosecution clarified that the dismissal does not declare the alleged acts never occurred, but that the evidence gathered could not substantiate a criminal offence. The file has now been definitively archived.
  
Mauricio, an architect and railway construction manager, is married with three children. 

His family was waiting at the terminal to pick him up when officers escorted him away.

Sandra, who is divorced and also lives in central Rosario, reportedly manages a day centre and elder-care facility.