A 40-year-old New Zealand man has avoided deportation back to Aotearoa after he sexually assaulted a sleeping woman in July 2021.
Ronald Betham was attending a surprise party and after the female host went to bed intoxicated, he got in bed with her and assaulted her, the Courier Mail reports.
The victim said Queensland-based Betham was touching her, and she yelled at him to stop and get out of her room.
He then proceeded to fall asleep on the floor, before being kicked out of the house by the victim's partner.
Betham pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault in the Beenleigh District Court.
He initially told police the woman had come onto him and claimed he didn't go into her room.
Betham moved from Auckland at age 21 to work as a chef, and faced deportation back to New Zealand if he was given a heavy sentence.
However, Judge Deborah Holiday said the decision was "borderline" as to whether he should serve actual custody.
She said the fact the victim was vulnerable at the time of the assault only made the crime more serious.
"This was disgraceful conduct and caused trauma to the victim. It was serious offending," she said.
"She was vulnerable at the time, asleep in her own bed and there was protracted skin on skin contact."
Betham was handed 18 months in prison, which was wholly suspended for two years.
He has also been ordered to pay the victim $5000 in compensation.
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