Child rapist Bob Hewitt’s victims to oppose parole
The former tennis pro and coach has served a third of his six-year sentence
The victims of convicted rapist Bob Hewitt are going to oppose his application for parole. Hewitt has served about two years of a six-year sentence. The idea that he might be given parole was horrendous, the victims' lawyer, Peter van Niekerk, said on Monday. Van Niekerk will also represent the Teddy Bear Foundation and Woman and Men against Child Abuse in the matter. He said the victims received notice that Hewitt‚ 78‚ had applied for parole, and they approached him to represent them. “It goes without saying that he was convicted of horrendous crimes. He raped two 12-year-olds. What made it worse was that he was in a position of power and trust,” Van Niekerk said. Hewitt‚ once a major name on the international professional tennis circuit‚ was convicted in March 2015 of raping two teenage tennis pupils and sexually assaulting a third in the 1980s and 1990s. He was jailed only in September 2016, however, after an unsuccessful Constitutional Court appeal. “He has served a minute part...
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