Rezk Elshazly, 35, of Havelet, St Peter Port, denied the offence but was found guilty at trial in the Magistrate’s Court.
The trial heard how he had been near Amherst School at about 6.30pm, and appeared to be lost.
The two were not known to each other. When the woman tried to help him by telling him where he would find his language class, Elshazly hugged her, put his face in to her neck, and squeezed her bottom.
The woman contacted police after speaking to her boyfriend. The sentencing hearing was told that Elshazly maintained his innocence and no longer had a right to remain in the island.
Judge Gary Perry said the defendant got no credit for a guilty plea as he had forced the woman to give evidence in court which had clearly been distressing for her. It was the defendant who was the liar, he said.
‘I understand your shame for what you did and that you wouldn’t want to admit it to your family, but the evidence against you was clear,’ he said.
A prison sentence was the normal penalty for this type of offence, but Elshazly no longer had a right to stay in the island. Judge Perry said taking that in mind he would impose a prison sentence of three months, suspended for two years. He was also made subject to notification requirements for a period of five years.
The defendant would also be bound over to leave the island and not return for at least two years in order to save the States from have to fund his time in prison.