A NEW Zealand man who indecently assaulted a total stranger in a library by pressing his face against her buttocks was jailed Monday for two years and three months for his behavior.

Philip Broughton, 50, indecently assaulted the woman in the parenting section of the public library in New Brighton, a suburb in the South Island city of Christchurch, The Press reported.

Broughton, who has a long history of indecent behavior and drunk driving, had denied the incident happened and claimed that he had been in the library "looking for books of scientific interest," but was found guilty of indecent assault.

Judge Stephen Erber, who described the incident as "disgusting, bizarre, and humiliating for the victim," said she was looking for a book in the parenting section when she felt something pressing on her bottom. She found Broughton on his knees with his face pressed into her bottom.

"He made no attempt to move, or apologize, and nothing was said," the judge said.