Man who attempted to rape woman during flight jailed for six years

A man who attempted to rape a woman on board an EasyJet flight from Naples to Edinburgh has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Nicola Cristiano, 45, carried out the assault during a late evening flight on May 13, 2025, after moving seats to be next to his victim.

The Italian national repeatedly grabbed the woman by the hand and neck in an effort to force her to touch his exposed crotch, and his semen was later found on her cheek and lip.

The father-of-two, who had been travelling to Edinburgh on a work trip, also attempted to kiss his victim and touch her breast and body.

When he moved to another area of the plane, the woman alerted cabin crew about what had happened, and Cristiano was arrested when the flight landed at Edinburgh Airport.

He was found guilty of attempted rape following a trial at the High Court in Edinburgh last month.

Sentencing him at the same court on Friday, judge Alison Stirling referred to a victim impact statement submitted to the court and told Cristiano: “The complainer says the assault has left a lasting effect on her sense of safety and control.

“She doesn’t feel comfortable flying and travelling alone any more.

“She had planned another holiday this year but she doesn’t want to go on it any more.”

The judge said: “The fact that it happened in a public setting surrounded by other people, even though she felt completely alone at the time, has been especially damaging for her.

“She thinks this will always have a lasting effect on her.”

The judge told Cristiano she noted from a criminal justice social work report that he had not accepted the guilty verdict.

She went on: “Custody is the only appropriate sentence with regard to the serious nature of the offending.

“The reasons for the sentence include punishment, expressing society’s concerns about and disapproval of your offending, protection of the public, and rehabilitation in custody.”

She also told him he would be deported to Italy once he had served his sentence, and he would be subject to notification requirements for an “indefinite period of time”.

Cristiano, who appeared in court dressed in a black and gold bomber jacket and blue jeans and who followed proceedings through an Italian interpreter, showed no reaction as the sentence was handed down.

Earlier, Cristiano’s lawyer Jim Stephenson told the court his client had accepted the complainer “did say ‘no’ on a number of occasions, and (that) he did take her hand and place it on his penis”.

He went on: “However Mr Cristiano still maintains his innocence in relation to the most serious parts of the charge.”

Speaking following Cristiano’s conviction last month, Detective Chief Inspector Steph Garnett, from Police Scotland’s public protection unit, said: “Cristiano will now face the consequences of his despicable actions and I hope this brings comfort to his victim.

“He deliberately approached a woman travelling alone on a flight and sexually assaulted her.

“Fortunately she had an opportunity to alert a member of the cabin crew and she was taken to another part of the plane where she was safe.

“I also hope this conviction gives confidence to anyone who is the victim of sexual crime to come forward.

“We will thoroughly investigate reports made to us and we have specially trained officers to provide support.

“Anyone wishing to report a sexual crime can do so via 101, or contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”