A BUNGENDORE man has expressed his shame and remorse after he grabbed another man's penis and testicles during a night of drinking at the Royal Hotel, Bungendore.
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Modbury Street resident Paul Daniel pleaded guilty to common assault in Queanbeyan Local Court on Monday as a result of the incident.
Daniel's solicitor Christina Lewis said her client couldn't remember the events of Saturday, June 15 due to his state of intoxication.
According to police, the victim was having a drink at the hotel with his wife, a work colleague and the colleague's partner.
Daniel, 32, walked up to the victim and his wife who were standing by the fireplace and asked "are you man enough to look after that woman?" He then stood over the victim in what the police facts described as an "intimidating manner," before reaching out and grabbing the victim's penis and testicles.
The victim threw his hands up in shock and said "what are you up to?" before pulling himself away. The defendant released the victim, turned around and walked to the bar.
Local magistrate Chris Bone described the incident on Monday as a "nasty little offence".
"This is not a minor offence: it quite easily could've been an indecent assault," Magistrate Bone said.
"In other respects he seems like a decent fellow. This is a man who makes bad decisions after he has had too much to drink.
"Was it a joke? It goes a bit further than that. It's not someone's first instinct to act like this; it wouldn't occur to most people. It didn't hurt the victim, perhaps it was done to shock him. It doesn't seem motivated by sexual feeling. I'm not sure if it was done to ridicule him.
"At the end of the day it's probably safe to say it was most likely an attempt by the accused to try to make the victim look silly in front of his wife."
Ms Lewis said the assault was "out of character" and wasn't premeditated.
"My client doesn't recall that night very well because of his level of intoxication. He is extremely ashamed and remorseful and realises his actions were completely inappropriate and plain wrong," she said.
"This incident came about after a few too many drinks, it was a night where things got a little bit out of hand."
Magistrate Bone warned Daniel he was at risk of going to jail, but instead issued the accused an 18-month good behaviour bond and a $1000 fine.
"The main purpose of this is to minimise the chance of offending again," Magistrate Bone said.
"You're very, very close to going to jail and you should bare that in mind."
