'Horny' sales rep gets home detention after boozy sales conference sex assault

Barry Andrew Cranch is likely to lose his job after being sentenced for indecently assaulting a co-worker after a drunken sales conference. Photo/File

A Hamilton sales rep who climbed naked into bed with a co-worker thought he'd try sleeping with her as she had slept with someone else he knew.

But instead of any sexual shenanigans, 53-year-old Barry Andrew Cranch ended up before Judge Glen Marshall in the Hamilton District Court today, being sentenced on a charge of indecent assault, after earlier accepting a sentence indication.

The charge was the result of a boozy company sales conference held at Tongariro Lodge in Turangi in June last year.

The employees were put up in bungalows - men in one, women in the other.

After the conference, they began drinking, had dinner, and then drank some more.

One female employee became ill, so Branch and the victim helped put her to bed, which was when the defendant became aware of where she was sleeping.

A group of employees continued drinking in the men's bungalow when the victim left and went to bed.

Sometime after 3.20am, Cranch went into the victim's room, stripped naked and climbed into bed with the victim, who was also naked, stating that he "wanted a cuddle".

The victim said "no" and told him to stop, but Cranch became aroused and pressed himself against the victim, who tried to pull away.

Cranch continued to try to pull her towards him but eventually she got away and told him to leave the room.

Cranch left and apologised the next day, telling her he had "been watching her all day, he was sorry, but he was horny".

When questioned by police, Cranch admitted trying it on with the woman after she had engaged in "sexual activity" with someone else.

He told police, it had been a long day, he was overwhelmed and that he had a stupid idea that he would try it himself.

Cranch's lawyer, Roger Laybourn, said a home detention sentence would mean a loss of his job as a sales representative which was transient.

"It's obviously desirable that this man who appears in court for the first time aged 53, maintains his employment if possible. There are obviously benefits for him but also his family."

Cranch accepted what he did was wrong and was remorseful, he said.

"It's perhaps not the most salubrious of circumstances but having learnt that [someone] had sex with [victim], when everyone had been drinking, he essentially thought that opportunity would be available to him.

"As a result of him making advances to the lady in question and committing the offence he accepted her rejection and left it there."

Laybourn unsuccessfully urged Judge Marshall to hand down a sentence of community detention so that he could keep his job.

Cranch also offered $3000 as emotional harm reparation.

The judge gave Cranch credit for his previous clean record and early guilty plea, but said community detention would not suffice.

"The sentence is complicated as home detention is proposed and you are likely to lose your job ... but I'm also conscious that your offending impacted on the victim in a way that will be with her for some time.

"Offending of this nature has its consequences, the starting point was imprisonment and it is only through a sentence of home detention I can still recognise the seriousness of that offending."

Cranch was sentenced to two months' home detention and ordered to pay the $3000 emotional harm reparation.