A former NRL player has been handed a suspended jail sentence for groping a female casino worker while celebrating Queensland winning the 2017 State of Origin decider.
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Nathan Sologinkin, 41, denied touching the woman on the vagina on the outside of her clothing in the crowded Treasury Casino in Brisbane on July 13, 2017.
But Brisbane District Court jury found him guilty on Wednesday of sexual assault and Judge Jennifer Rosengren sentenced him to four months in prison, wholly suspended for 12 months.
Judge Rosengren said the sexual assault had been brief, spontaneous and opportunistic but was "brazen" and committed against a young woman in the course of her work.
"It is imperative in our community that all women irrespective of their age and their work feel that they can go about earning a living without being sexually assaulted as the complainant was here," Judge Rosengren said.
She said that she had taken into account the nature and circumstances of the offence, Sologinkin's lack of remorse and the impact of the offending on the victim.
A conviction was recorded.
The father of three played first grade rugby league between 1997 and 2003, with stints at the South Queensland Crushers, Canberra Raiders, Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm.
He had gone to the Origin decider with his brother-in-law and a cousin before joining hundreds of Maroons fans at the casino celebrations.
Footage played to the jury showed him pushing through the crowd and chatting animatedly to fellow Maroon fans as he made his way to the bar.
The Crown presented evidence that as he was walking past the woman in the crowd, in one motion he touched her from vagina to hip, during a 0.31-second window, before walking on.
The woman reported the alleged assault to other casino staff, who then used CCTV footage and tracked down Sologinkin.
Sologinkin told the court he had three beers at the game and up to seven rum and cokes at the casino as he celebrated until about 1.45am.
His defence barrister claimed the woman had not initially considered it assault and apologised to Solongkin for the contact.
But the victim later changed details of the allegation to accuse Sologinkin of sliding his hand up her leg to touch her genitals, the court was told.
The court heard Sologinkin's position as president of the Albany Creek Crushers junior league club in Brisbane is now in jeopardy .
Defence barrister Craig Eberhardt called for Sologinkin to avoid a custodial sentence and instead receive a fine and good behaviour bond so he could continue his contributions to junior rugby league.
Australian Associated Press
