You really don’t want to be known as the Stellenbosch ‘gym masturbator’, because that will follow you around for years.

In the case of the 18-year-old Stellenbosch man caught on that widely shared and infamous video, there is at least a tiny bit of good news.

After initially lodging a complaint of sexual assault against the man, Virgin Active has decided not to continue with its complaint.

Via News24, the gym says that “it was more appropriate to ban him and for him to get psychological assistance”:

In a statement, Virgin Active spokesperson Carla White confirmed that it had approached authorities on Wednesday to withdraw the case against the teen.

“The [National Prosecuting Authority] are, however, likely to still set specific conditions that the suspect will be required to meet related to the withdrawal,” she explained.

She said the company had taken immediate action when presented with the video, and had identified the teen and banned him for life.

“What he did was wrong, however, we are of the opinion that psychological help may be more appropriate than criminal sanction. We have an undertaking from his lawyer and family that he is receiving counselling and will continue with this course of therapy. We believe this is the most balanced way to deal with the situation.”

All things considered, I think that’s a balanced and forward-thinking approach, although I would also excuse anybody who wanted to see the full force of the law thrown at the perpetrator.

Going on the recent stories shared on Twitter about serial sex pests in both Cape Town and Jozi, it’s a problem that far too many women are faced with when going about their daily lives.

Also, I think we need to take a moment to look at the TimesLIVE headline:

They add that the case “ended prematurely”.

[source:news24]