Groper told to find out the effects

A SCHOOLIES reveller reached out and grabbed a uniformed police officer’s breast while she was patrolling Surfers Paradise.

Josh Dylan Lambert-Gill had turned 18 just three days before he groped the officer while he was drunk on November 28 last year.

Lambert-Gill pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday to one count of common assault.

The teenager lives in Sydney and appeared via video link as he could not attend court due to coronavirus restrictions.

CCTV footage of the incident played to the court showed Lambert-Gill walking down Cavill Mall and casually putting his arm out and grabbing the officer’s chest as he walked past her.

The officer was with at least two other police, patrolling the party precinct.

Magistrate Michelle Dooley placed Lambert-Gill on a $450 good behaviour bond for six months. No conviction was recorded.

“As a young man you need to have discussions with the women in your life so you understand what the effect is when these incidents occur,” she said. “It may have been a fleeting incident to you but you have to accept the roll-on implications for her.”

The court was closed briefly while the officer gave a victim impact statement.

Defence barrister Matthew Jackson said Lambert-Gill was remorseful for his offending.

Mr Jackson said LambertGill was drunk at the time.

He said since the incident Lambert-Gill had been working part-time.

Outside court, Gold Coast Police Superintendent Mark Wheeler said: “That kind of behaviour is completely abhorrent and no one should be subject to that kind of behaviour in the workplace. People who conduct themselves in this way can expect consequences.”