Plenty of us are seriously messed up and don't go on to sexually harass another individual. I'd rather he just own up to it without playing a sympathy card.
Plenty of people have rage issues and don't hit other people. That being said, if someone has a rage issue and hits other people, it stands to reason that an honest and contrite apology about hitting the person is going to include an assessment of the fact that there's an underlying pathology that requires addressing to avoid the thing happening in the future.
Like, domestic violence is terrible, the victim comes first, the victim deserves support and a safe space and freedom from the relationship. I've never hit my partner, I hope I never do. I don't believe violence is acceptable. I don't think it's acceptable for anyone. I think people who commit domestic violence should be punished and I think it should be as easy as possible for victims of domestic violence to be removed from the situation. But absent a magic space laser that blasts the abuser into space dust, the abuser is still alive and still human and that person is going to have to deal with the consequences of their action. Part of those consequences will and should be punishment. But part of it is also rehabilitation. Identifying the factors that lead to the action... and the answer to this is more complicated than "evil sadistic assholes do evil things fuck them they fucking suck"... and addressing those factors. In many cases this involves therapy to manage anger issues, and in many cases that therapy will touch on stressors in earlier or recent life that have caused those anger issues to become worse.
And a portion of a truly contrite apology needs to include awareness of the consequences AND a genuine desire to rehabilitate. You are of course aware that courts consider contrition and likelihood to avoid future offences based on steps taken to address causes as part of mitigation factors that affect punishment.
It is also the case that although not all alcoholics harm others, many do, and the way they harm others varies widely. My grandfather was an alcoholic and although he never did anything harmful to me (mostly just an old drunk type), my mother has stories of being hit as a kid and verbally abused and generally treated in ways that were certainly unacceptable and probably illegal. In some case it is physical abuse. In other cases property crime. And yes, alcoholism is a contributing factor to sexual violence and sexual harassment. I don't think those actions come from the Evil Gene being activated in those peoples' DNA. I think the illness absolutely changes their personality and their ability to make right choices. The most important thing here is that the victim gets the support she needs and her safety is secured. But when it comes time to deal with the offender--and given that people are replying to this thread including you I'm assuming you agree that there does come a time where we need to think about the offender--part of a legitimate and full-throated apology (which is one of the things one would hope to secure from an offender of any kind) is a recognition of how things in their life contributed to the actions they took. This doesn't mean they're not punished. This doesn't mean you say "What a swell guy" and forget immediately. You expect followthrough and demand accountability. But part of that is seeking treatment for their disease.
It may well be the case that this is not a sincere apology and this guy is a jerk and this is a CYA move. I don't really know or have any input. But what I can say is that if he does have untreated depression and alcoholism issues, and if this action is out of character for him, those two things are almost certainly linked. Again, if you think this guy should be ultra nuked on live television and then his ashes should be mixed with Osama's ashes and then both ashes should be shot into the sun and then we should erase his birth certificate, then, that's fine. Feel free to argue that. But if we're operating on the assumption that we're trying to figure out what's next for this guy, the best way he can avoid repeating these actions and not abusing other women is to address the issues that caused him to abuse this woman.
You're a decently smart person and you comment frequently on public policy issues. I cannot possibly fathom that you don't believe rehabilitation is not a part of the way you deal with all offences, whether informal or criminal. When you do something to hurt someone, part of saying sorry is trying to guarantee you will avoid the action in the future, and part of being able to guarantee that is taking convincing steps to address the causes.
To me, the apology identifies the thing he did wrong, makes it clear he understands the depth of pain he caused, makes it clear he doesn't intend to do it again, and guarantees that claim by showing that he's taking steps to address the root causes. That's the structure of a proper apology. If you think he's making it up, you think he's making it up. But if you don't think he's making it up, then it generally makes sense to me.