A 51-year-old Parkes man has been given a 12-month community corrections order at Cowra Local Court.
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Dominic James Rolfe of Maguire Road, Parkes, was before the court charged with sexually touching another person without consent.
According to police facts, around 11pm on Friday, May 31, Rolfe left a hotel in Parkes and walked to another nearby hotel.
Around 11.50pm, he walked up behind his victim, who was lined up to purchase drinks, and firmly squeezed the victim's buttocks.
The victim locked eyes with Rolfe and he stumbled off to the other side of the bar.
The victim, crying and upset, then informed the hotel's security of the incident.
Security informed Rolfe he would have to leave and he grunted in response before being removed.
Security informed the victim it had been noted in the hotel's incident register and they could contact police if they wanted further action taken.
Around 1.50pm on Saturday, June 1, the victim attended the Parkes Police Station and made a typed statement.
Police then obtained CCTV footage of the incident from the hotel.
On June 11, Rolfe attended Parkes Police Station where the allegations were put to him.
He told police he had no recollection of being at the hotel where the offending occurred, stating he had been well intoxicated after drinking at the previous hotel.
When shown the CCTV footage he admitted to police that the man in the footage was him.
Rolfe's solicitor, Peter Martin, said his client was totally embarrassed by his behaviour.
"He was very heavily intoxicated and didn't even know he was in the establishment," he said.
"He was at the end of a large job and wasn't planning on drinking that much. It was stupidity that was behind his offending.
"What he thought was a joke and mucking around was offensive, demeaning and hurtful to the victim, he recognises that," he said.
Mr Martin told the court his client was the only male in his family and had explained his offending to his daughters and wife.
"He brought up his daughters to have men respect them," he said.
"He now has to live with them looking at him from across the table having explained this to them and he lives with that daily."
Mr Martin submitted to the court that the embarrassment Rolfe was facing at home was more of a punishment than what he would receive from the court and a conditional release order would be appropriate.
However police prosecutor, Sergeant Beau Riley, told the court the offending was too serious even for someone without a record.
He told the court Rolfe's offending was closer to an indecent assault and a conditional release order was not appropriate for that kind of offending.
READ MORE: Court hears assault was to "calm" victim
In sentencing Magistrate Michael O'Brien said Rolfe's offending was abhorrent and serious.
He said while he accepted that Rolfe made a contribution to his society and his peers, the offending could carry lengthy jail terms.
"While this offending falls at the lower end of the objective scale of seriousness the court cannot ignore it," he said.
"Intoxication played a role but it's not a factor that mitigates the offence. Nothing I say or the court can do can match the judgment you will receive at home."
"Use this opportunity to resolve to do better in the future," he said.
