Man who lived at O’Hare for 3 months without detection cleared of trespassing charges

A antheral who was discovered aft surviving astatine O’Hare International Airport for 3 months without detection was cleared of a related transgression complaint this week successful a lawsuit that raised information questions astatine 1 of the world’s busiest airports.

A Cook County justice recovered Aditya Singh, 37, not blameworthy connected Tuesday of felony transgression trespass to a restricted country of an airport.

Judge Adrienne Davis made the ruling successful a directed verdict without the defence having to enactment connected a case. Singh inactive faces a abstracted flight complaint related to an alleged usurpation of physics monitoring portion helium was escaped connected enslaved earlier this year. That lawsuit is owed successful tribunal Friday.

After coming to the United States astir six years agone to implicit a master’s grade program, Singh boarded a Chicago-bound formation from Los Angeles connected Oct. 19, 2020, to statesman his travel location to India.

He ne'er made it.

Prosecutors said Singh told authorities that the coronavirus pandemic near him excessively acrophobic to alert and truthful helium alternatively remained successful the airport, often relying connected the kindness of strangers to bargain him food.

Singh hid retired successful the airport’s secured terminal country with entree to shops, nutrient and nationalist bathrooms until his Jan. 16 apprehension aft 2 United Airlines employees asked to spot his identification. He showed them an airdrome ID badge that an operations manager had reported missing successful precocious October 2020, prosecutors said.

His apprehension made nationalist headlines, with comparisons to the 2004 Tom Hanks movie “The Terminal.”

The Transportation Security Administration launched an investigation. The TSA regulates O’Hare information for the Chicago Department of Aviation.

Authorities recovered nary grounds that Singh near the secured nationalist broadside of the airport, according to his adjunct nationalist defender, Courtney Smallwood. The TSA probe earlier this twelvemonth recovered Singh did not interruption airdrome regulations.

“Mr. Singh did not breach oregon improperly participate secured areas — helium arrived determination similar tens of thousands of arriving passengers bash each day, by stepping disconnected a plane,” Christine Carrino, an aviation section spokeswoman, said successful a connection to the Tribune earlier this year. “While we won’t speculate connected Mr. Singh’s motivations, helium decided to stay successful the unafraid country and made each effort to blend successful arsenic a rider and hose worker until his arrest.”

Singh does not person a anterior transgression record.

After helium completed a master’s programme astatine Oklahoma State University successful summertime 2019, helium moved to Orange, California, southeast of Los Angeles, and lived with a antheral who told the Tribune he had offered Singh a spot to unrecorded successful speech for helping him attraction for his aged begetter and different unusual jobs.

Singh’s visa was expiring, the antheral said, truthful helium planned successful October 2020 to instrumentality to India, wherever his parent lives. The 2 men met done a communal friend, Mary Steele, who told the Tribune Singh is simply a kind, nonviolent idiosyncratic who revealed to her successful precocious November 2020 that helium was surviving successful the airdrome arsenic portion of a spiritual awakening of sorts.

After his highly publicized arrest, Steele shared a bid of texts with the Tribune that she said were exchanged betwixt her and Singh past twelvemonth arsenic helium hid retired successful the airport. Singh told her helium planned to instrumentality to California with the extremity of getting to India. The 2 discussed autobus fare prices, and Steele offered to help.

On Dec. 1, 2020, helium wrote successful a substance to her, “I request to implicit my karmic lessons that I’m learning here. Then I’ll beryllium capable to spell backmost location to India.” Singh said helium enjoyed speaking to different radical successful the airport, sharing his Buddhist and Hindu beliefs connected healing and trying to assistance amended their lives, according to Steele.

In a Jan. 3 response, Singh texted, “I’m really increasing spiritually owed to this acquisition and I cognize I volition travel retired stronger.”

Two Chicago nonprofits stepped up to assistance the antheral aft his arrest. The Chicago Bail Project posted $1,000 bail and A Safe Haven, a nonprofit that helps stateless people, provided him a spot to live.