A MARRIED luxury yacht officer followed a pregnant bar manager into her private office and sexually assaulted her, a court was told.

Peter Hague made two drunken passes at the “vulnerable” Hampshire bar boss.

The assaults came as the woman attempted to cash up at the end of the night.

On both occasions, Hague, who works as a chief officer on a luxury yacht, tried to pull down her leggings while making lewd sexual remarks.

The 51-year-old’s victim flatly rejected his advances both times, the court heard.

Hague denied two counts of sexual assault, but was found guilty by a jury after a trial at Southampton Crown Court.

He was given a 15 month suspended prison sentence.

Sentencing judge Christopher Parker said Hague had made “unwanted and continued advances” at a pregnant woman.

He added that the victim was “alone” and “vulnerable” at the time of the attacks.

The judge also said that Hague had shown “absolutely no remorse”, due to his continued denial that the incident had taken place.

The court heard how the assaults took place in December 2016 while Hague was on a safety training course in Hampshire.

At the time of the offences, Hague was staying at a village pub near Southampton, which cannot be identified.

After drinking a bottle of wine and “several pints” of Guinness, Hague followed the pregnant woman into her office at the pub.

He attempted to pull down her leggings while describing his intention to perform a sexual act on her.

Prosecutor Richard Martin told the court how his victim turned her body to get away from Hague, but he repeated his advance.

Defending, David Reed said Hague had experienced a difficult childhood.

He said that his client had been with his current partner for 22 years and she had been “supportive” throughout the trial.

The lawyer also praised Hague for his professional exploits, having trained as a yachtsman after leaving his high-flying role at the now defunct Woolworth.

He added: “This is a man that many people think extremely highly of and this incident has taken a toll on him.”

Judge Parker said he was “just persuaded” to suspend Hague’s sentence, due to his previous good character.

He also ordered Hague, of Mead Close, Bristol, complete 240 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,500 in costs.