A 19-year-old sex offender was given the benefit of the new Alternatives to Incarceration (ATI) programme yesterday when he was ordered to attend a treatment centre rather than go to jail.

Gilbert (Beefy) Paul James Bovell, 19, of West Avenue, Southampton, was given three years probation in the community-based Sex Education Unit.

Bovell pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the 20-year-old woman outside PHC on Middle Road, Warwick, in December last year.

The court heard how Bovell had assaulted the woman outside the club, where she was collecting money for charity.

Bovell's lawyer Llewelyn Peniston provided the court with two similar cases where the sexual offender was given probation, rather than a jail term.

He said a social inquiry report had recommended Bovell be given probation and placed on a sex therapy course.

Mr. Peniston said: "Take into account the submission of the social scientists in this case, he can benefit from the community based Sexual Education Unit. Bovell pleaded guilty early on and the extent of his remorse is unfathomable."

However, prosecutor Wayne Caines told Magistrates' Court that there had also been several cases where men had been incarcerated for similar sexual assaults and recommended that Bovell be jailed.

Mr Caines said counselling should be given in prison in this case, and not in the community.

He said: "It is important that this sentence shows women that they are safe."

Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves said, considering all of the facts of the case, he felt ATI was the way forward.

He said: "I have heard the facts from both counsels. I see no reason to vary from the recommendation of probation."

Mr. Greaves ordered Bovell attend the three-year programme at the Sexual Education Unit.

He added: "If you mess up - you will have the opportunity to go to jail."

When the case was heard last week, Mr. Greaves told the court Bovell knew the victim.

Mr. Greaves referred to the victim's vagina as the "promised land" and her rectum as the "forbidden land".

"It wasn't an accident, the girl pulled away and he drove his hand into the promised land. She told him to stop and he didn't," said Mr. Greaves.

"He went to the promised land and then to the forbidden land without her permission." Last week, when Mr. Greaves asked Bovell if he knew about "heat," Mr. Peniston replied: "Adam succumbed to Eve."

Chairman of the Women's Resource Centre Penny Dill, who was not in court for the case, said she supported ATI, but wanted assurance that the system was already up and running.

She said: "We understand what the ATI is doing and we look forward to working with them.

"We have concerns that this is still new and, before the courts change sentencing, we want to ensure that the system is up and running, and that the offender knows what is expected of them and that the community is aware of how it works.

"We also want assurance that the victims' needs are met and that sensitivity is shown towards them. The WRC is an advocate for the victim to ensure that the victims voice is heard."

Ms Dill also said the victim impact statement should be read in court in every appropriate case.

Outside the court, Mr. Peniston told Bovell: "Go and sin no more."

@EDITRULE:

The Royal Gazette acknowledges a statement attributed to Acting Senior Magistrate Carlisle Greaves was stated in fact by Crown counsel Mr. Wayne Caines . The statement, "This is a barbaric attack on an unsuspecting victim," appeared in the article `Teenage father to be sentenced for `Barbaric attack' on a woman', dated March 22.