Donald William Raether buried his face in his hands after the Senior Magistrate Will Francis sent him to prison for nine months for grabbing a woman's arm and her breast on the dance floor of the Oasis nightclub last Wednesday.

Raether, 26, a native of Atlanta, appeared contrite in Magistrates' Court as he admitted one charge of sexual assault and one charge of grievous bodily harm on the woman's boyfriend.

Sgt. Phil Taylor said Raether, a locksmith on a short-term contract at the Southampton Princess hotel, attended the Oasis nightclub where he found the woman on the dance floor with a friend. He grabbed her left arm and then her left breast and said: "Let's have some fun.'' The woman managed to escape his grasp and told Raether she was going to find her boyfriend.

Raether replied:"I don't give a damn I am leaving the Island anyway.'' Her boyfriend intervened and the two men struggled but Raether got the better of him.

During the struggle Raether bit the complainant's finger causing a deep cut.

The man was taken to hospital where an X-ray revealed that he had no broken bones although there was extensive tissue damage. Raether was due to leave the Island in early February.

Duty counsel Richard Horseman said Raether was unable to shed any light on the incident because he was too drunk at the time.

"His employers say that this was totally out of character for Raether and they would like him to seek counselling to determine the cause of this incident.

"Southampton Princess are dissatisfied with his conduct and wish to make it known that they do not condone it.

"They are prepared to fly him off the Island today, if that would assist matters.'' Moreover, Mr. Horseman said that Raether had consumed a lot of alcohol that evening which he accepted did not excuse his actions.

Turning to the bit finger, Mr. Horseman said no bones were broken. And the sexual assault amounted to nothing more than a "quick grab,'' which was a normal thing in a nightclub. But even that he said could not condone his client's conduct.

Sgt. Taylor immediately rose to his feet and said: "That bite went all the way through to the bone. It was not a minor injury.

"As for the `quick grab' I need not say anything more about that other than to say that it is not something normal people in normal circumstances go for.

"(Raether) went out. He got drunk. No matter how much mitigation is offered we must take those points seriously.'' Mr. Francis mulled over his decision for more than 10 minutes and even made two amendments to the final ruling as he read it out in open court.

He said: "Mr. Horseman has urged on me all the mitigation that is possible to advance. The maximum sentence in these lower courts is five years.

"I have looked at this case in every way possible. I have given you credit for your previous clean record, your good character and your guilty plea.

"But you grabbed a complete stranger. This couple were given a real hard time by you. You sexually assaulted this young lady and you bit the young gentleman who was with her.'' Mr. Francis said there was no other way for him to deal with this other than through a custodial sentence.

At this point Raether's face became as white as a sheet. He was sent to prison for nine months for grabbing the woman's breast and three months for biting her boyfriend's finger. Both sentences will run concurrently.

Raether's employer Donald Clark asked Mr. Francis if he could approach the bench. He said his employees actions were totally out of character.

But Mr. Francis interrupted him and said: "I do not know who you are. I have said all that I have had to say. If you want to take action there are plenty of lawyers out there.

"He could have been tried in the Supreme Court. The maximum sentence in the lower courts is five years for a sexual assault.

"That should show you how our Parliament and this Country deals with sexual assault.''