Bob Hewitt heads to jail for rape as court denies his appeal
09 June 2016 - 15:18
byRoxanne Henderson
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DISGRACED former tennis champion Bob Hewitt’s appeal bid against his six-year sentence for rape and sexual assault has failed.
Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judges Mandisa Maya‚ Zukisa Tshiqi and Willie Seriti handed down their judgment on Thursday morning.
Hewitt had asked the SCA to reduce his effective six-year prison sentence, which was handed down in the High Court in Pretoria by Judge Bert Bam in May last year‚ but the court has turned him down.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the authority welcomed the court’s decision.
"We maintain that the sentence is an appropriate one considering Hewitt’s age and the age of the victims (at the time of the offences). The rights of the victim are central in the administration of justice‚" he said.
Advocacy organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse also welcomed the SCA’s decision.
"We applaud the courage and bravery of Hewitt’s victims for putting their lives at risk and on hold to force justice to prevail at last‚" founding director Miranda Friedmann said in a statement.
Bam also ordered Hewitt to pay R100,000 to the Department of Justice to be used in initiatives to curb violence against women and children.
Hewitt was found guilty in March last year of raping Theresa "Twiggy" Tolken and Suellen Sheehan and of sexually assaulting a third woman‚ who cannot be named‚ when they were his tennis students as teenagers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Arguing for Hewitt at the SCA hearing‚ his advocate‚ Johann Engelbrecht‚ said that Hewitt’s sentence should be reduced because of his old age and poor health.
But Tshiqi said that Bam did consider Hewitt’s old age to be a mitigating factor when he handed down the sentence.
Maya agreed‚ saying: "You must not overlook that the trial court could have imposed life imprisonment (on Hewitt for the rape of a minor)."
Prosecutor Carina Coetzee argued that Hewitt’s sentence should not be reduced due to his poor health and old age, because that had not stopped him from running a successful citrus farm in the Eastern Cape.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Bob Hewitt heads to jail for rape as court denies his appeal
DISGRACED former tennis champion Bob Hewitt’s appeal bid against his six-year sentence for rape and sexual assault has failed.
Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) judges Mandisa Maya‚ Zukisa Tshiqi and Willie Seriti handed down their judgment on Thursday morning.
Hewitt had asked the SCA to reduce his effective six-year prison sentence, which was handed down in the High Court in Pretoria by Judge Bert Bam in May last year‚ but the court has turned him down.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku said the authority welcomed the court’s decision.
"We maintain that the sentence is an appropriate one considering Hewitt’s age and the age of the victims (at the time of the offences). The rights of the victim are central in the administration of justice‚" he said.
Advocacy organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse also welcomed the SCA’s decision.
"We applaud the courage and bravery of Hewitt’s victims for putting their lives at risk and on hold to force justice to prevail at last‚" founding director Miranda Friedmann said in a statement.
Bam also ordered Hewitt to pay R100,000 to the Department of Justice to be used in initiatives to curb violence against women and children.
Hewitt was found guilty in March last year of raping Theresa "Twiggy" Tolken and Suellen Sheehan and of sexually assaulting a third woman‚ who cannot be named‚ when they were his tennis students as teenagers in the 1980s and 1990s.
Arguing for Hewitt at the SCA hearing‚ his advocate‚ Johann Engelbrecht‚ said that Hewitt’s sentence should be reduced because of his old age and poor health.
But Tshiqi said that Bam did consider Hewitt’s old age to be a mitigating factor when he handed down the sentence.
Maya agreed‚ saying: "You must not overlook that the trial court could have imposed life imprisonment (on Hewitt for the rape of a minor)."
Prosecutor Carina Coetzee argued that Hewitt’s sentence should not be reduced due to his poor health and old age, because that had not stopped him from running a successful citrus farm in the Eastern Cape.
Hewitt had been out on bail of R10,000.
TMG Digital
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