A Lavington man's indecent assault of a teenage girl by asking her to kiss him before putting his hand on her bare thigh had "caused very significant cultural embarrassment".
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Defence lawyer Mark Cronin said there was no doubt Chhabi Lal Acharya regretted his offending, which happened as he gave the girl a lift to see her doctor.
"Obviously it's been a salutary lesson for him, given his previous good character," Mr Cronin submitted on sentence to Albury Local Court magistrate Sally McLaughlin.
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Acharya previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of committing an assault with an act of indecency, the plea coming after the withdrawal of a charge of carry out a sexual assault with another without consent and two charges of indecent assault of a person under 16 years of age.
Mr Cronin said he would never suggest to any court that an indecent assault was "not a serious offence".
Nevertheless, he said Acharya's offending "must fall very much to the lower end" of the range for objective seriousness, an assessment that was conceded by the Crown.
The court heard previously that Acharya moved to Australia from Nepal in 2011 and the victim in 2017, which was when their families met in Albury.
She asked him for a lift to the Gardens Medical Group in Wodonga Place, Albury, around the end of February in 2018.
Once the appointment was completed, the girl got back into Acharya's car - he had parked nearby - and he began the drive home.
During their return journey, they spoke her "sexual activities" and then Acharya asked if she was a virgin and if she would kiss him.
She was made to feel "very uncomfortable" when Acharya placed his left hand on her right thigh.
She asked him to removed his hand.
The victim then climbed into the back seat and neither revealed the incident to their families.
She complained to police in September, 2021, and Acharya was arrested a month later.
He was convicted and placed on a six-month community correction order, without supervision.
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