The man who gained his 15 seconds of fame by "goosing" Channel 4 News reporter Sue Turton live on TV is being sought by police.
The Thames Valley force have told MediaGuardian.co.uk they believe they have identified the man involved and will issue him with an £80 fixed-penalty notice for a public order offence.
The incident, which has now been viewed about 45,000 times in various clips on the YouTube website, occurred while Turton was undertaking a live "two way" at the side of a flooded street for Channel 4 News in Oxford last week.
As she was speaking to camera, a man approached her from behind and pinched her bottom. Turton flinched slightly but carried on reporting.
A Thames Valley police spokesman said that although Turton told them that she did not want to press charges against the man, the force thought the incident was serious enough to warrant the penalty.
"We are taking this seriously," a spokesman said. "We just think it was particularly stupid and obnoxious behaviour and the individual concerned needs some kind of sanction.
"The victim of the offence does not wish to press charges, however Thames Valley police believe we have identified the offender and we will be seeking to issue him with a fixed-penalty notice for a public order offence."
It is understood the force wanted to press for a tougher penalty and was "not particularly happy" about giving the man a fixed-penalty notice but that Turton's refusal to press charges limited their action.
The spokesman added the force had not been aware that the incident had been posted on YouTube, but said it would now attempt to contact the website.
It is understood that the Channel 4 News crew ran after him and tried to apprehend him following the incident.
Turton said she did not want to comment on the incident.
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