A BRAINTREE man posed as a military policeman at a hotel, handcuffed a customer to a lift, manhandled a male member of staff and offered a female receptionist £50 to take off her knickers.
Miley Byrne, 25, pleaded guilty at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court to two offences of assault while impersonating a police officer and having police items in his possession, and has been given a community order.
Magistrates ruled that Byrne, of Challis Lane, Braintree, must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work, pay a £60 victim surcharge and £85 legal costs.
The offences were committed by Byrne on February 28 this year at the Travelodge in Chelmsford.
He has a previous conviction for a similar matter dating back to 2009, where he was stopped by police for driving a Citroen Saxo with blue flashing lights.
On searching his car, officers discovered an array of emergency service uniforms and equipment, including handcuffs and an extendable baton.
Chairman of the magistrates, Brian King, told him during sentencing: "You may like to live this way and think it's exciting. Your victims don't think it is."
Byrne went to the hotel claiming to be protecting the 15-year-old daughter of a US ambassador and over the course of six hours fulfilled his fantasy involving staff and customers.
A female receptionist was persuaded to put her hands on the desk while he "used his feet to spread her legs" and told her: "I'll give you £50 if you take off your knickers."
He also placed a male night receptionist on the ground in a "sleeper" hold and handcuffed a customer to the inside of the hotel lift.
When arrested, he had military police and firefighter uniforms in his possession.
Andrew Andrews, mitigating, said: "He accepts living a life through a fantasy. He genuinely believed he was acting as a police officer and going about his business as a police officer."
He said that at the time Byrne was a hotel worker but he has now lost his job.
Mr Andrews added: "It was part of the persona he was following at the time. The offence was a spur of the moment during his fantasy role as a police officer."
Kathy Wilson, prosecuting, said: "He made a booking at the hotel as Mr N (Military Police) and on arrival he was dressed in what staff believed was a military police uniform.
"His T-shirt had written in white 'Military Police / Close Protection' and he wore police trousers, a belt, boots, and an ear piece and had handcuffs and a torch.
"He approached the counter claiming he was a protection officer for a 15-year-old girl who was the daughter of a US ambassador and said she was in room 221, being guarded by bomb disposal experts.
"He told staff not to enter the door of the room because they would get a bullet in the head and suggested that a sniper team had surrounded the building."
Miss Wilson added that Byrne had previously claimed at a hospital to have been guarding someone who had come in from Heathrow Airport.