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A SCOTS mechanic who sexually assaulted a woman while dressed as Batman at a comic book convention in London has been banned from the city for a year.

William Rory Hazlie slipped his hand into the costume of a woman dressed as the caped crusader's arch enemy 'Poison Ivy' as they posed for pictures at the comic book fair.

Hazlie, 29, from Airdrie, Lanarkshire, groped the victim's bottom and private parts after putting his hand down her green hot pants at the Comic Con event at London's Kensington Olympia.

The 24-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was covered in green body paint and wearing wreathes of ivy leaves as part of her costume.

Hazlie was found guilty of one charge of sexual assault at Hammersmith Magistrates Court last month.

When he appeared for sentencing this week he was given a community order banning him from entering the M25 area for a year.

He was also ordered to pay his victim £330 in compensation and £660 in legal costs.

Hazlie was arrested at the scene last July and taken to Fulham police station where he told police he had put his hand on the woman's buttocks because he slipped and was 'maintaining his balance.'

Magistrate Angela Cahill told him: "Mr Hazlie, we have heard the evidence given by you and the victim and we found her evidence to be compelling with a clear and consistent version of events.

"She neither consented nor did you have reason to believe she had consented and we therefore find you guilty in this matter."

Giving evidence from behind a screen the victim said: "He came over and made a donation and then asked for a photo and pointed at me saying "just you".

"It's not unusual for us to pose for individual photos but it was a bit weird the way he said it.

"When we posed for the first photo side by side I said: 'Oh, that's a bit' as he pulled me into him, it made me feel a bit uncomfortable.

"We then posed for another picture with my knee up in the air and he grabbed my leg."With his other hand he grabbed my bum with increasing pressure, he squeezed my bum and then his hand moved towards my private area."It then tucked into my knickers and he squeezed, I tried to move away, I just wanted it to stop."

Afterwards I went and stood in the corner, I felt like a little girl, I still think about it every day, comics were my way to release."Hazlie denied the charge of sexual assault saying he had not intentionally groped the woman.

He said: "I asked for her picture because Poison Ivy is a female character from Batman that I liked but I did not point at her.

"The first photo was just a normal photo but I had to put my hand on her waist for balance."I did put my hand on her bottom but there was nothing sexual about it, I didn't realise it was inappropriate at the time. There was nothing sexual about it at all."

Following the verdict, Hazlie has been shunned by the tight-knit comic book fan community.

A statement on behalf of a group called Gotham Cosplayers UK stated: "As many of you are probably aware now, the court case involving a member of GCUK being sexually assaulted at London Film & Comic Con on our stand back in July has gone to trial and the defendant, William 'Rory' Hazlie, has been found guilty.

"We here at Gotham Cosplayers UK are very pleased with the outcome and hope this deters any similar instances from happening at any cosplay/comic con event."

Cosplay is NOT consent and the resulting distress that unwanted attention and harassment of both men and women can be very traumatising for the individual concerned.