Two separate Contra Costa County juries have convicted a former Delta Air Lines pilot and his ex-girlfriend, a Walnut Creek mother, of repeatedly sexually abusing her young daughter over several years. Rustom Bhagwagar and Jennifer Spitz Powell were each convicted on all charges, including eight counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration with a child age 10 or younger and 12 counts of forcible lewd acts against a child under 14.
Two Juries, One Case
According to contracosta.news, the case was tried using a dual-jury format, meaning each jury heard only the evidence related to its assigned defendant. A jury found Powell, now 46 in the outlet's reporting, guilty on Monday, September 28, while a second jury convicted Bhagwagar, 35, guilty the following day. Earlier charging coverage from the San Francisco Chronicle had identified Powell as 45 years old at the time of her arrest.
The girl testified at trial, as reported by East Bay Times, which noted the defendants went before two separate juries that deliberated independently. Per the same conviction report from contracosta.news, prosecutors said the abuse began when the girl was 7 years old and occurred from on or about October 17, 2017, through October 16, 2022 — though earlier charging coverage from the Chronicle had placed the alleged abuse between 2018 and 2023.
An Arrest in the Cockpit
Bhagwagar was still a Delta employee when federal agents arrested him on July 26, 2025, moments after he landed a Delta Air Lines flight at San Francisco International Airport, according to KRON4. The New York Times reported that the flight, Delta Flight 2809, a Boeing 757-300, had arrived at SFO at 9:35 p.m. after departing from Minneapolis. Powell, who lived in Walnut Creek, was arrested three days later, per the same KRON4 account.
The Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office had been investigating Bhagwagar as the primary suspect since April 2025, according to KQED. Bhagwagar lived in Florida, according to reporting cited by KTVU, which also reported that Delta ended its relationship with him following his arrest. A judge, according to a separate KRON4 report, had earlier found sufficient evidence for both defendants to stand trial on all 24 counts before the case proceeded to the dual jury trial.
Mother Accused of Watching and Participating
Court documents cited by KTVU allege that Powell knew her daughter was being sexually abused by her then-boyfriend, according to a probable cause statement, and that she watched and participated in the abuse herself, per court documents referenced in that reporting. Deputy District Attorney Haleigh Parkinson of the Sexual Assault Unit prosecuted the case, according to contracosta.news. Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton's office reported the convictions, per KTVU's account of the case.
Sentencing Still to Come
Both Bhagwagar and Powell remain in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility and will be sentenced by the court at a future date, contracosta.news reported. Each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 230 years to life in state prison. No sentencing date has been made public in the available reporting.
