A former deputy director of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators has admitted drunkenly groping two women in his local village pub - but will be allowed to continue in practice.
Solicitor Thomas Cadman said he had no recall of the night in question when he grabbed the two women on a ‘locals only’ event in the Red Lion pub in Castle Eaton, near Swindon.
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that Cadman had been convicted of three counts of sexual assault following the incident on the Bank Holiday Sunday in August 2021. He was sentenced to a nine-month community order and £900 fine.
Cadman, who appeared before the tribunal with his father and partner, had been known to both women when he grabbed them by the bottom over the course of an hour. Both women were in the pub with their husbands and one had her son with her.
The first victim was speaking with her son when Cadman grabbed both her buttocks. She felt in shock and left the pub soon after. In a victim statement, she said she was now nervous around men and felt scared and suffered nightmares when her husband was away, knowing Cadman was living nearby.
The second victim said it ‘worries me massively’ that Cadman still lived in the same village as her and this ‘keeps me awake thinking about it’. She said she would be scared to see him in public and does not like to be alone in the house.
The tribunal heard that Cadman had developed a problem with alcohol during lockdown and had struggled to cope with the shame since the incident. A doctor gave evidence in private about Cadman’s health at the time.
Cadman’s representative Geoffrey Williams KC took the tribunal through character references from former colleagues and other solicitors saying Cadman had never behaved like this before and was considered a trustworthy member of the profession.
Williams added: ‘Both individually and collectively these testimonials are remarkable and speak volumes about Mr Cadman’s character. They say ‘this was not the man I know’. It was not him.’
Cadman, now 43, was admitted in 2008 and worked in private practice in London before joining the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. He also represented Great Britain at fencing in his youth and has sat on the British Board of Fencing.
The SRA was not permitted to make submissions on sanctions but Cadman was. The tribunal ruled that he should be fined £25,000 and pay £3,600 costs.
