A former cabbie who groped two people at a burlesque club could be facing jail.

Stephen Wheeler, 59, touched a man and a woman on the bottom after drinking “quite a quantity of alcohol” at Proud Cabaret in St George’s Place in Brighton.

Wheeler, a former taxi driver of no fixed address, previously pleaded guilty to two offences and now faces a possible prison sentence.

The incidents happened after a woman spotted Wheeler with a companion who appeared to be drunk.

After Wheeler left his table, the woman approached his companion to ask if she was OK.

Wheeler returned shortly after, at which point he put his hand on the woman’s lower back before sliding it down to her bottom.

Following intervention by police, a second victim came forward and revealed that he had also been assaulted on two separate occasions that night.

The man described one of the incidents in which Wheeler was “cupping” his bottom “with a slight grab”.

Wheeler, who currently lives in a van in Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to intentionally sexually touching a man and woman without their consent.

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In a statement read at Brighton Magistrates’ Court, Wheeler’s victim said that he had been forced to leave his job due to the assault’s effect on his mental health. He also said that he had attempted suicide on several occasions since the incident, which happened in November 2021.

Wheeler’s other victim said she had been afraid of men in the aftermath of the assault and would “never be the same person again”.

A lawyer for the former taxi driver told the court Wheeler had “no recollection” of the incidents and that the charge was “something he will carry for the rest of his life”.

Wheeler, who appeared in person at the court, has also sent written apologies to both his victims.

Magistrates decided they did not have sufficient powers to sentence Wheeler.

He was released on unconditional bail and will appear for sentencing at Lewes Crown Court on March 10.