A man who climbed in through a woman’s window to kiss and caress her narrowly avoided prison yesterday.

Jahmari Sutton, 28, was sentenced in Magistrates’ Court to four months’ imprisonment suspended for two years.

The sentence was handed down after he was found guilty of sexual assault and admitted trespassing on to the woman’s Warwick residence.

The court heard during his trial that Sutton, from Southampton, climbed through the woman’s bedroom window on March 12, 2022 while intoxicated.

Sutton then caressed and kissed the woman and refused to leave despite being told, but left after hearing someone else in the residence.

The woman cannot be identified for legal reasons.

Sutton admitted in February to trespassing at the woman’s home but denied sexually touching her.

He said he did not recall caressing or kissing the woman and that he only tried to give her a hug, which he called a “real, genuine gesture”.

Magistrate Craig Attridge found Sutton guilty of the sexual assault in May.

Prosecutor Karim Nelson said this month that Sutton had “forced his way into the woman’s home” while intoxicated and suggested he should be imprisoned for the offences.

Elizabeth Christopher, Sutton’s lawyer, requested her client be sentenced to probation, which she said would help address his struggle with alcohol abuse, identified in court reports.

Sutton apologised for his actions last week and highlighted his need for assistance — his mother, cousin and godmother also advocated for him in court.

In a judgment written by Mr Attridge and read out yesterday by magistrate Maria Sofianos, it was acknowledged that Sutton’s actions crossed the threshold of a custodial sentence.

However, Mr Attridge recognised that he was at low risk of reoffending and needed help “in respect to his alcohol use”.

Ms Sofianos sentenced Sutton to three months’ imprisonment for the sex assault and one month's imprisonment for the trespassing.

She ordered that the sentences run concurrently and that they both be suspended for two years.

Ms Sofianos further ordered that Sutton go through 18 months of probation, which included abstaining from drugs and alcohol, taking random drug tests and joining any programmes that court services deemed necessary.

She reminded Sutton that, if he offended during the two-year suspension, “we will not hesitate to impose that prison sentence”.

• It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any libellous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers