Francis yesterday sentenced a man who broke into a Horizons cottage to six months in prison.

Because he was tried in Magistrates' Court, rather than Supreme Court, Richard Williams, 24, of Ord Road, Paget, could have received a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison for the September 13 break, enter and theft.

Mr. Francis also sentenced him to three months in prison, to be served concurrently with the six-month sentence, for wearing a mask during the break-in.

"By any stretch of the imagination, this offence is serious,'' Mr. Francis said. "This kind of offence has to stop.'' But he said he also took into account Williams' guilty pleas and appeals for leniency from his lawyer, Miss Victoria Pearman.

Court was told Williams had a black stocking over his head when he climbed through a window of South Winds Cottage at Horizons & Cottages in Paget just before dawn.

As he swept 80 cents in change off a bedside table, the 19-year-old female visitor who was sleeping in the room began to stir. Williams placed his hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming, but her father awoke in the next room and struggled to hold Williams until Police arrived.

While Miss Pearman has asked for "another chance'' for Williams and a non-custodial sentence, Crown Counsel Mr. Peter DeJulio told Mr. Francis "any kind of suspended sentence or non-custodial sentence should be absolutely out of the question''.

Mr. DeJulio presented Mr. Francis with recent clippings from The Royal Gazette to demonstrate community concern about such crimes.

When a visitor is victimised, other victims include visitors generally, the hotel industry, and Bermudian society in general, he said.

"This court in my submission should do something about it,'' Mr. DeJulio told Mr. Francis. "The buck stops here.'' The Crown also stressed the "stark terror'' the young woman must have felt.

"She didn't know whether she was going to be raped or murdered or robbed, or anything.'' Miss Pearman said Williams was a young man who worked in construction but had been unemployed for three months before the break-in. He was in severe financial difficulty, did not intend to hurt anyone, and showed remorse for the crime, she said.

Rodney Smith of Warwick, Williams' cousin, said Williams worked for him in construction and was a punctual and diligent worker.

Miss Pearman said that while Williams had convictions for possession of marijuana, drinking in public, threatening behaviour, and possession of an offensive weapon, he "has a clean record with respect to offences for dishonesty''.