Woman gets nine months probation for indecent act on Halifax-bound plane

Alicia Elizabeth Lander, accused of committing an indecent act on a Toronto-to-Halifax flight, has been found guilty of all charges.

HALIFAX -- A 26-year-old woman has been sentenced to nine months' probation for committing an indecent act on a Halifax-bound flight in 2014.

Alicia Elizabeth Lander appeared in Dartmouth provincial court Tuesday where she was also handed a six-month conditional sentence for assaulting a police officer, committing an act of mischief and causing a disturbance at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.

Lander was found guilty of the offences in May.

At the trial a flight attendant who was aboard Air Canada Flight 610 on Jan. 24, 2014, testified that Lander and a man used a coat to cover their laps and then fondle each other.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Timothy Gabriel told Lander that he was concerned that young children were in close proximity during the flight.

He also characterized her behaviour at the airport, where she kicked a sliding door off its runner and also kicked a hole in the wall of an interview room while being combative with police, as "disgraceful."

"It could be described as the action of a spoiled 12-year-old who is used to getting her own way," said Gabriel. "I think you understand...that your actions were childish but you are an adult and in the adult world actions have consequences."

The conditional sentence involves a curfew under which Lander is confined to her home from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.

Lander must submit a DNA sample and perform a total of 60 hours community service. She was also ordered to pay Halifax Stanfield International Airport $426.65 within 14 months for the damage she caused to the wall.

Lander testified during her trial that she drank more than a dozen shots just before and on the flight, and didn't remember what had happened. That explanation was dismissed by Gabriel, who said he didn't believe it.

Jason George Chase was previously given 18 months' probation and a conditional discharge after pleading guilty in January to committing an indecent act in connection with the same incident.

Outside court, Crown attorney Cheryl Byard said she was satisfied with the overall sentence despite asking that Lander get the same amount of probation as her co-accused.