A 32-year-old man was accused of sexually assaulting a female passenger during a flight, prompting it to be diverted to allow for his removal, federal prosecutors said on Friday.

The man, James Clayton Cholewinski-Boyd , a retired speedskater, was in an aisle seat on Tuesday on an American Airlines flight that was headed to Salt Lake City from Charlotte, N.C.

He was seated next to the woman, and her daughter was in the window seat, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Shortly after takeoff, Mr. Cholewinski-Boyd, who is listed in some court records as James Clayton Cholewinski-Boy, began touching the woman’s arm, despite her repeated attempts to push his hands away. Then he grabbed her crotch, the complaint said.