Australian model facing 21 years in jail for attacking a flight attendant asks American judge to throw out her conviction in shock move
- Melbourne model Adau Mornyang has asked a US judge to throw out conviction
- South Sudanese-born beauty accused of assaulting United Airlines air hostess
- Former Miss Australia state finalist, 24, will be sentenced in LA on June 24
- Mornyang claims accusations have destroyed her promising modelling career
A former Miss Australia state finalist who is facing 21 years in jail in the US for assaulting an air hostess during a long-haul flight has asked a Californian judge to throw out her conviction.
Melbourne-based model Adau Akui Atem Mornyang will be sentenced in the US District Court in Los Angeles on June 24.
Mornyang's US legal team told Judge Cormac Carney a jury convicted the model at a trial in March after prosecutors relied on 'an inflammatory audio tape that purported to depict Ms Mornyang screaming racial slurs and obscenities'.
Model Adau Akui Atem Mornyang (pictured) is accused of assaulting a flight hostess in January
'The government failed to lay any foundation for the audio tape containing racial slurs and obscenities,' Mornyang's lawyers wrote in their motion for dismissal or a new trial.
'The government presented no witness who had ever heard the recording before, or who could confirm that it accurately captured the events, or even Ms Mornyang's voice.'
The lawyers also argue Los Angeles was not the correct district to hold the trial.
Prosecutors rejected both arguments.
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Adau Akui Atem Mornyang's fate will be revealed when she's sentenced in the US on June 24
South Sudanese-born Mornyang was convicted of a felony charge of interference with a United Airlines flight crew member and misdemeanour assault.
Mornyang, 24, faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in US federal prison.
Prosecutors said Mornyang ordered 'several alcoholic beverages' during the Melbourne to LA flight on January 21.
Flight attendants cut her off from ordering more and about an hour later, 'passengers approached the flight crew to complain about defendant's behaviour, which included yelling obscenities and racial slurs and flailing her arms'.
Flight attendant Romeo Gutierrez attempted to calm Mornyang down.
The alleged incident happened on a United Airlines flight from Melbourne to LA (stock image)
'Defendant did not calm down and instead escalated her aggressive behaviour and "smacked" Mr Gutierrez,' prosecutors wrote.
A federal air marshal on the flight intervened and escorted her to the back of the plane 'where she was placed in handcuffs and continued to harass the people around her for the rest of the remaining five hours of the flight to Los Angeles'.
Prosecutors said an audio tape played at Mornyang's trial of the model's 'coarse' and 'explosive' language on the flight was authenticated by a witness familiar with Mornyang's voice.
'Thus, the witness was able to attest to the accuracy of the recording, provide context for the recording, and provide additional and independent testimony regarding defendant's other later conduct and words, which he described as far worse,' prosecutors wrote.
Adau Mornyang, 24, claims the accusations have ruined her promising modelling career
A US air marshal described the alleged incident as 'the most severe he has encountered in his ten years' on the job.
Mornyang has protested her innocence and claims the accusations have destroyed her promising modelling career which has seen her grace the catwalk in New York, London and Paris.
She's signed with Chadwick Models, and her profile remains on their website.
She broke her silence earlier this year and claimed to have no recollection of the 'ordeal' after mixing prescription drugs with alcohol to sleep during the long-haul flight.
'I boarded that flight on January 21 for what I thought was a life-changing opportunity,' Mornyang told News Corp in March.
'I had just been offered a modelling contract for three years and I was so excited. I couldn't believe that it was finally happening.
'Just to wake up and be thrown into prison. I've never laid my hands on another human being. I don't believe in violence as someone who's always been on the receiving end of it. I would rather hurt myself than another human being.'
The South Sudanese-born model (pictured) has denied any wrongdoing
Mornyang was previously a global campaign face for makeup giant Sephora and was a Miss World Victoria top eight state finalist in 2017.
She arrived with her family as a refugee to Australia when she was 10 and used her promising modelling career as a platform to become an outspoken advocate on social issues, particularly in South Sudanese communities.
In 2017, she made international headlines when her emotional video reliving the terrifying ordeal of being raped by two men in Adelaide when she was 17 went viral.
'I've been suffering alone by myself and I wanted to set myself free and tell other girls that are experiencing the same thing that it's never your fault,' she told Daily Mail Australia at the time.
'I want them to know that it is OK to speak up and it is OK to seek justice. You shouldn't have to suffer alone.'
Mornyang was a Miss World Australia Victoria state finalist in 2017 and made the final eight
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