One hundred Yukoners who gathered in a Whitehorse courtroom Monday morning - responding to a call for jury selection - were sent home after hearing the accused they were there to try plead guilty.

Paul Bosek, whose trial was set to begin this week, had originally faced three charges: aggravated sexual assault, aggravated assault and choking in the commission of an offence.

But those charges were recently dropped by the Crown and a new information was laid against the man last week.

In court Monday, he pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated assault for an incident which occurred on Nov. 11, 2008 and was described in an agreed statement of fact.

The court heard that on that day, Bosek knocked on the door of his future victim's apartment and introduced himself as a new neighbour.

The woman invited him in and the two spent a few pleasant hours together, both in her apartment and at the Airport Chalet lounge.

They had a couple of drinks but were not drunk, the court was told.

Bosek was flirting with the woman, but she refused his advances.

When they returned to their apartment building and he persisted, she asked him to leave her home. She walked to the door and opened it, again asking that he leave.

Bosek admits he then came up behind her, put his arm around her neck and began choking her.

The woman fell unconscious to the ground and woke, moments or minutes later, to find Bosek on the floor with her.

She hit him and started shouting that she was going to call the police. Bosek left.

The woman made good on her word and, six days later, Bosek was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting his neighbour. He was denied bail on Dec. 17 and has remained in custody since his arrest.

In her victim impact statement, the woman said she feels she has become "prey to predators" and no longer feels safe at home alone.

"I am very angry," she wrote.

Justice Ron Veale, who heard the case, agreed with the woman's assessment that the attack could very likely have been deadly.

"This is a very serious offence," he said.

The man's guilty plea was likely the result of a deal with the Crown, evidenced by the fact both sides asked for the same punishment - a conditional sentence of six months' house arrest - and that the sexual assault charge was abandoned by the prosecutor.

Aggravated assault carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The Crown may have dropped the charge of violent sexual assault in return for a partial admission of guilt, thereby avoiding putting the victim on the stand.

The charge of choking in the commission of an offence would have been dropped because it cannot be laid without an accompanying offence other than assault.

Veale mentioned the former point when sentencing Bosek, and gave him credit for sparing his victim further trauma in the witness box by pleading guilty "in a timely manner."

Bosek, who recently returned to the Yukon after living in the provinces for some years, was also credited with six months' time served for the period he spent in jail before Monday.

The judge told Bosek that apart from going to work, he could only leave the house for two hours a week to go grocery shopping, five hours a week for exercise, and to attend "organized religious practices."

Bosek may not move from his current residence without the permission of his conditional sentence supervisor.

After serving six months of house arrest, Bosek will spend an additional 2 1/2 years on probation. During that time, he must not drink or take drugs, own firearms or have any contact whatsoever with his victim.

At the end of the sentencing, Veale advised Bosek to stop drinking permanently. Bosek nodded silently when the judge said alcohol probably played a role in the attack.

As for the potential jurors, they were asked to return to the courthouse on March 30, when 12 of them will be will be selected for a different trial.

Typically, about 300 names are drawn for a jury selection. Court sheriffs then go through the list and remove anyone who is directly connected to the case, or who has a significant criminal record.