Former Tamworth Country Music Festival boss sentenced to community service

Former Tamworth Country Music Festival manager Joel Ulbricht has been sentenced to a two-year community corrections order and must complete 250 hours of community service for sexually touching another person without consent.

Ulbricht, 45, was convicted and sentenced in Gosford Local Court today, after pleading guilty to the offence that took place in a home on the NSW Central Coast in January.

According to agreed facts, Ulbricht and the victim spent the night drinking alcohol at the home of mutual friends, after having not seen each other for a period of 15 years.

The victim became unwell and went to sleep in a spare bedroom. A few hours later, Ulbricht entered the bed the victim was asleep in and put his hands inside their underwear before the victim got out of bed and left the room.

Ulbricht's lawyer Maddison Battese told the court her client "had no recollection of the sexual touching, which is why he initially pleaded not guilty".

The court heard he later accepted he did it, based on the evidence, which included DNA results from the victim's clothing.

"My client's recollection is foggy," Ms Battese told the court. "He did subjectively believe there was consent."

Ms Battese accepted the level of offending was serious, but said there were no aggravating factors.

"When the victim left the room, he did not pursue or follow," she said. "There is no evidence of premeditation."

Judge Elizabeth Ellis convicted Ulbricht and sentenced him to a community corrections order for a period of two years. During this time he will be subject to supervision by a community corrections order and must perform 250 hours of community service work.

He has also been ordered to abstain from alcohol for a period of six months.

After pleading guilty in July, Ulbricht stepped down from his role as manager of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, a position he had held for less than six months.

In a statement, Tamworth Regional Council said it was unaware of the charges and guilty plea.

"None of this was disclosed at any point during [Ulbricht's] employment," the statement said. "[Ulbricht] was unable to meet an essential criteria for the role within his six-month probationary period, which was a condition of his employment."

Ms Battese asked the judge to take into account Ulbricht's loss of employment, when determining a sentence, telling the court his reputation had been "significantly damaged".

The court heard Ulbricht had recently started working in a junior role in an unrelated industry, while also working behind the scenes as a consultant for some events.

Judge Ellis disagreed with the defence's claim that Ulbricht's career and personal life had suffered significantly as a result of his offending. "I think the impact on his life sounds nominal," she said.