A man who called women “Barbie” before touching them inappropriately has been spared jail at Inverness Sheriff Court.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald dismissed claims by Peter Rozgonyi, who is Hungarian, that there was a “cultural” explanation for his actions.
She told him: “This was not cultural, this was just wrong.”
Rozgonyi appeared for sentencing having been previously convicted of two counts of sexual assault between November 2020 and June 2021.
He had denied the charges at trial with his solicitor claiming there was no sexual “tone” to his interactions with the women
But Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald convicted the 56-year-old of both charges.
During the course of the trial, one of Rozgonyi’s victims had told how he initially made comments about her body shape which made her “very uncomfortable”.
On one occasion he kissed her on the head, on another he touched her breasts over her clothing when they were in a car together.
‘Get off me’
She said: “I told him to stop, seriously, get off me. He said he was trying to give me a hug from behind.
“I said stop doing that.”
Defence solicitor David Patterson suggested the only comment Rozgonyi had made towards her was calling her “Barbie” and said his client had kissed her in a “friendly, comical way” – a suggestion she disputed.
A second woman told the court Rozgonyi had also nicknamed her “Barbie” and suggested the pair “go away somewhere” together – going into a “huff” when she turned him down.
She said on one occasion she was standing still when Rozgonyi began to fiddle with her bra strap over her clothes. On another, he put his hand on her leg in a car.
She also described how Rozgonyi touched her on her bottom with a “grab”.
Asked if she had consented to any of these things she said: “No”.
The court heard that when Rozgonyi was interviewed by police he admitted kissing one of the women on the head.
‘Lost in translation’
Mr Patterson said his client, who was assisted by an interpreter throughout the trial, was a Hungarian national and suggested to the witness that some things he said were “lost in translation”.
He also asked if she accepted that Rozgonyi was “a bit of a joker” who perhaps “missed the mark” when trying to be funny – a characterisation she agreed with.
However, when asked about this by fiscal depute Karen Poke, the woman said: “It was still inappropriate.”
Finding him guilty of two counts of sexual assault, Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald told Rozgonyi: “I believe their accounts and what they say happened to them.”
At the sentencing hearing, Mr Patterson told the court that Rozgonyi was a first offender who was unlikely to come before the court again.
He said his client had a “supportive family” and was in full-time employment.
He told Sheriff MacDonald: “Clearly he is quite upset at the situation he finds himself in – he continues to deny the offences.”
Mr Patterson highlighted that his client’s risk of sexual reconviction had been assessed as “low” and said: “His record is now marked and that will serve as a regular reminder and a regular punishment for him.”
Sheriff MacDonald told Rozgonyi: “I convicted you of two offences of sexual assault. You carried out inappropriate sexual behaviour towards two young females.
‘This was just wrong’
“You have given some explanation in the report that this was somehow cultural – this was not cultural, this was just wrong.
“Your behaviour was upsetting and distressing to the two young women who were involved”
She said: “You will, by now, be aware that a conviction in these terms by themselves will be a punishment – they will affect your life and will affect your employment.
“I’m taking that into account when I sentence you today.”
Noting that his report was “generally positive” and his low-level risk assessment the sheriff placed Rozgonyi, of Union Street, Nairn, on a community payback order with six months of supervision.
She told him: “Follow their guidance and do as they ask with a view to rehabilitation.”
The sheriff ordered that Rozgonyi remain on the sex offenders register for the same amount of time.