A knife-wielding assailant was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment yesterday for sexually assaulting a 57-year-old woman in her home in early May.

Eugene Cumberbatch, 31, pleaded guilty to serious sexual assault yesterday following the attack at victim's own home in the early hours of May 13.

Crown counsel Graveney Bannister said the victim had a troubled acquaintance with Cumberbatch, of Glebe Road in Pembroke, that began when he first approached her at a social club some months before the attack.

Mr. Bannister said Cumberbatch's sexual advances failed and the victim was scared enough to return home early but Cumberbatch showed up on her doorstep later that night. He was asked to leave and did. The victim did not see Cumberbatch again until several weeks had passed when he was hired at her place of employment.

The victim was a waitress at the Lobster Pot restaurant when Cumberbatch arrived as a new kitchen porter. According to the prosecution the victim quit her job the day after she had to work one shift with Cumberbatch.

Despite the previous tensions, when Cumberbatch arrived at her home on May 13, she let him in, said Mr. Bannister.

Det. Constable Jason Smith, told Assistant Justice Archibald Warner that Cumberbatch admitted to Police he had had a lot to drink the night before and was "horny".

Defence lawyer Victoria Pearman said Cumberbatch has a drug and alcohol problem, in addition to a learning disability.

Cumberbatch sat on the victim's couch and told her he wanted sex, offering money at one point said Mr. Bannister.

When the victim refused and told him to leave, he brandished a knife and threatened her. Picking her up, he moved her into the bedroom where he put her on the bed.

He forced her legs open, causing further damage to an ankle injury she had sustained the previous day. Her screams alerted a neighbour who rushed into the victim's home to discover Cumberbatch, whom the neighbour recognised, with his hand hidden between her legs.

Mr. Bannister said that when Cumberbatch got up, the victim asked: "Why did you do that to me?"

He replied: "I didn't do anything."

The subsequent Police investigation resulted in Cumberbatch's arrest and he immediately defended himself, saying: "It wasn't me." He later admitted to the assault while in Police custody.

Mr. Warner said Cumberbatch could be "a serious sexual predator" after Mr. Bannister revealed that Cumberbatch has a history of "deviant sexual behaviour".

Cumberbatch was convicted of assault with intent to rape in 1993 and has a series of lesser breaking and entering and disturbing the privacy of a woman convictions, in addition to theft charges.

Ms Pearman said: "This is definitely the less serious of serious sexual assault."

Mr. Warner called her two-hour discourse on the legislation "eloquent and meaningful" but warned "(Cumberbatch's) previous record is disturbing and cannot be overlooked".

Mr. Bannister asked for a sentence of 13 years, saying it would not be "unduly excessive or harsh seeing the defendant has previous convictions and has developed a trend or pattern. Five to eight years could be woefully inadequate.

"(Sentences are) for the purpose of establishing justice; when these fail, this purpose becomes a dangerously constructed dam that stops the flow of social progress. We must send a message that society will not tolerate this form of behaviour, these attacks on women," he finished.