Orem man sent for evaluation

PROVO — He sobbed as he begged for his victim's forgiveness, vowing to take responsibility, no matter how difficult it may be.

"I am sorry for what I have done," Robert Bosserman said Tuesday morning in 4th District Court in Provo. "I hope I can do anything to help her. I want to be able to do the alcohol treatment. I want to stay sober. I want to be the man I am right now."

The 26-year-old Orem man had been drinking heavily March 2, and that night he entered his neighbors' house and tried to sexually assault their 15-year-old daughter who was asleep in bed.

The girl awoke and yelled at the man to get out of her room, which he did, going back to his own house to fall asleep in his basement, where police found him a short while later.

Bosserman was arrested and charged with rape and aggravated burglary. He pleaded guilty April 22 to attempted rape, a first-degree felony, and aggravated burglary, a third-degree felony.

But drinking is not a complete excuse, Bosserman said, thanking the police officers who arrested him.

"They showed me a new light; they showed me I could be a better person," he said. "This is what I need. I can't blame it fully on (alcohol). I do need therapy. I need as much help as I can get."

Rather than get sentenced Tuesday, prosecutor Doug Finch asked Judge Steven Hansen that he send Bosserman to the Utah State Prison for a diagnostic review, a 90-day evaluation of Bosserman's state of mind and what programs would be most beneficial.

He will be sent to the prison and come back on Sept. 9 to be officially sentenced.

Finch said he doesn't believe that Bosserman's alcohol level of 0.16 was enough to cause him to "black out" and forget what happened, including how Bosserman got into his neighbor's house.

In fact, the main reason Finch said he agreed to the plea deal of a reduced charge of attempted rape was to avoid requiring the victim to testify again at trial.

"She's been devastated by this," Finch said. "She is having all kinds of issues, all kinds of problems in dealing with the situation."

The victim's mother — the Deseret News doesn't identify victims of sexual assault — said she was worried with the possibility of jail time then probation, which is what Bosserman's attorney wanted.

"I know that the prison will help him," she said, referring to the programs at the Utah State Prison. "If he truly does want to change, he should go there and cooperate."

Bosserman's attorney, Matthew Howell, agreed his client would greatly benefit from therapy, but outside a prison setting.