An upstate New York man has been charged with groping a woman on a Denver-to-Newark United Airlines flight, federal prosecutors said.

Ryan Manuella, 28, of Cheektowaga outside of Buffalo, was charged Monday with one count of abusive sexual contact on an airplane, the US Attorney’s Office in New Jersey said.

According to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors, Manuella was aboard United Airlines Flight 1729 on Friday when he moved to an empty seat next to a female passenger.

“While seated next to the victim, Manuella touched the victim on the groin and inner thigh with his hand, both directly and through the victim’s clothing, all without the victim’s permission,” the complaint reads.

“The victim told Manuella in a loud voice to get away from her, stood up quickly from her seat, sought the assistance of a flight attendant,” it said.

The attendant then moved the alleged victim to a new seat for the rest of the flight, prosecutors said.

When the flight landed at Newark, cops questioned Manuella — and he allegedly admitted he touched the woman “with a desire for his sexual gratification,” the complaint states.

Manuella made his first court appearance in the case Monday and was detained. He faces up to two years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

According to reports, Manuella also ran afoul of the law last year, when he was sought in Nevada on a warrant for domestic battery with strangulation in Douglas County.

Details on the outcome of that case were not immediately available.