Steven Balmer, 39, initially denied the two offences but was found guilty of both, by 7-2 and 6-3 majority decisions, after a trial that had lasted for five days in the Royal Court.
‘These offences are unacceptable. People should be free to go out and socialise without the fear of being touched by others,’ said Judge Catherine Fooks.
‘Your loss of career forms part of the punishment and acts as a warning to others.’
She said that what Balmer had done to his victims was inexcusable and had caused long-lasting harm.
Balmer, who was a litigation lawyer who often appeared in court on behalf of clients, was sentenced to 150 hours community service as a direct alternative to nine months in prison for each offence to be served concurrently.
The incident took place in Hook restaurant in March last year.
The two women ended up sat at a table having drinks with Balmer, one of whom had met him once before, and two of their mutual friends.
Balmer made comments about one of the women’s recent fitness journey, telling her that he had seen videos of her training which were posted on her trainer’s Instagram account with her permission.
He made comments about her weight loss and sexual comments towards her.
The court saw messages between the woman and her husband exchanged throughout the evening.
In one, she wrote: ‘Steve the lawyer is a little scary, he keeps saying I’m attractive and how good I look after having two children.’
He also asked her if she was getting fit because she was planning to cheat on her husband and whether she had considered getting a boob job, but that she did not need one.
Feeling uncomfortable, the complainant and her friend went to the bar to get a drink.
Balmer approached them from behind, touching both of them on the bottom and whispered something to one of them, which she said she could not hear.
The woman messaged her husband again saying: ‘Okay, it’s not funny, he’s just grabbed my arse’ and asked him to collect her from town.
Balmer said that the atmosphere of the evening had been jovial, everyone was having fun and he was exaggerating for amusement in tune with everyone else.
He said he did not have an explanation for his actions, that there was no sexual element and he had likely touched them to get their attention.
He apologised to the women.
In a victim impact statement, one of the women said that she was usually a bubbly and outgoing person but following the incident she struggled to walk down the street in the daytime without looking behind her.
In the lead up to giving evidence during the trial she was a nervous wreck, and said the trial was the worst part of the entire experience, leaving her scared and apprehensive.
Defending, Advocate Natasha Newell described the actions and impact on her client as his ‘crushing fall from grace’.
Balmer was already having to deal with the consequences of his actions, including losing his job as a lawyer, and would not be able to return to that sector, she said, with the associated financial impact of that for his family.
She said that the incident had been unplanned and opportunistic, but not premeditated.
Her client was no longer drinking alcohol since the incident 13 months ago, labelling himself as a ‘recluse’ and said he was seeking help including therapy.
He was mortified by his actions, which were ‘wholly out of character’.
Advocate Newell said that Balmer had contributed to the community through his duty advocate work and pro bono work. He was also made subject to a notification period of three years.