Lawyer’s sudden approach left the girl “shocked and frozen
A former Melbourne solicitor has been convicted of sexual assault and fined $5,000 after groping a 17-year-old girl outside a kebab shop during a drunken night out.
Glenn Thexton, 46, was found guilty in April 2025 of grabbing the teenager’s buttocks with his left hand on 25 September 2019. The incident happened in Melbourne’s King Street nightclub precinct, after Thexton had been drinking and visited a strip club with friends.
The court heard that the 17-year-old victim had been attending an underage event nearby and was standing with friends outside a kebab shop when Thexton approached them. He spoke briefly with two of the girl’s friends, who told him they were underage. He invited them to a bar, but they declined.
Thexton then entered the kebab shop but did not buy anything. As he left, he walked past the group and, according to Magistrate Andrew Waters, grabbed or squeezed the girl’s left buttock. The act was described as “quick and opportunistic” but deliberate and sexual in nature.
Embed from Getty Images“It was more than a brief brushing past,” Magistrate Waters said during sentencing on Friday 8 August 2025. He said Thexton, who was 40 at the time of the offence, should have been held to a higher standard as a practising solicitor and officer of the court.
“She was a young woman, simply enjoying a night out with her friends,” Waters added. “She had a right to expect that she could do so without being concerned about being touched without her consent.”
Although the contact was brief and occurred over the girl’s clothing, the magistrate ruled that it was a deliberate act. He found no evidence of planning but noted that Thexton had not shown any remorse and continued to deny the offence.
Thexton has claimed that he did not knowingly make any contact with the complainant and has signalled his intention to appeal the conviction.
The court considered mitigating factors including the six-year gap between the offence and sentencing, the delay in charges being laid, Thexton’s clean prior record, and the fact he had not re-offended since. Thexton has also been suspended from practising law and suffered professional and reputational damage.
Nonetheless, Magistrate Waters said the lack of accountability and continued denial of the offending weighed against him.
Thexton was convicted, fined $5,000, and placed on the sex offenders register.
In a brief statement to AAP, he said: “I have been held to a higher standard on a finding of guilt.
