A BALRANALD man has been jailed after sexual touching a woman in a Griffith supermarket.
Anthony Allan Hadfield, 36, appeared via video link in Griffith Local Court on September 21, and pleaded guilty to charges of sexual touching without consent and shoplifting.
According to documents tendered to the court, at 12.48pm on June 29, a woman entered Griffith Aldi, followed by Hadfield at 12.55pm.
Two minutes later, Hadfield placed a bottle of flavoured milk in the right-hand side pocket of his pants.
While shopping the woman bent forward to look at an item. Hadfield approached her from the right-hand side and pushed up against her. She felt something hard against her right buttock.
She then stood up and told Hadfield to “get out of here” before reporting the incident to the store manager and police.
When Hadfield left the store he didn’t pay for the milk bottle. He was arrested on July 6 when an off-duty officer saw him in a Yambil Street store.
Hadfield was on parole at the time of the offence.
Hadfield’s solicitor told the court his client has issues with human interaction due to mental health problems, and submitted a psychiatrist’s report detailing his struggles.
Hadfield was sentenced to 12 months in prison, backdated to August 31, with a non-parole term of six months.
He will be eligible for parole on February 28, 2023.
