Tennis star rapist Bob Hewitts will hear his parole …

Although President Cyril Ramaphosa banned prison visits for 30 days on Sunday March 15 when he declared a disaster in South Africa due to the global epidemic of coronavirus, the & # 39; Parole hearing of disgraced tennis star and convicted rapist Bob Hewitt will continue. March 24, confirmed the Ministry of Correctional Services. The hearing will take place at the North End Prison in Port Elizabeth.

Parole hearing for former tennis champion, tennis instructor and convicted rapist Bob Hewitt is scheduled at Port Elizabeths North End prison and despite instruction from President Cyril Ramaphosa that no visit to South African prisons will be authorized within the next 30 days, one of his victims and his lawyer are determined to attend.

In 2015, at the age of 75, retired tennis player and instructor Hewitt was convicted of two counts of rape by two girls, ages 12 and 13 and one indecent assault on a 17 year old girl. The rapes were committed in the early 80s and the sexual assault in 1994.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison for each rape conviction and two years in prison for sexual assault. Two years of each of the rape convictions were suspended on condition that Hewitt paid 100,000 rand to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the government to use in combating the abuse of women and children. His effective prison sentence was six years. He only went to jail in September 2016 after a series of calls.

In September 2019, the Parole Board decided that he should be released on parole which would expire in September 2022. This decision was overturned by the Parole Board after a panel chaired by Justice Siraj Desai decided that the victims of Hewitts did not have the opportunity to participate in a restorative justice process.

Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo said the scheduled parole board hearing to hear Hewitts' request was in accordance with a court order.

We will ensure that preventive measures are put in place to prevent the transmission of the coronavirus, he added.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday March 15 that the global pandemic caused by the virus was a disaster in South Africa and others restrictions announced that no prison visits will be allowed in the next 30 days. This was supported by Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, who said at a follow-up press conference on Monday that they would not take any risks and had started the process of sanitation of all prisons.

A lawyer for the three survivors, Tania Koen, said that one of his clients lives abroad and that one has decided not to attend. A third client, who bore the name of Olivia during the legal proceedings, will drive from Johannesburg to attend the hearing.

She was aware of the President's request to avoid unnecessary internal displacement, so she will drive down, said Koen.

Nxumalo said that the Department of Correctional Services initially offered victims to participate in the victim-offender dialogue session by videoconference. This offer has not benefited from a favorable return. The department was then asked to fund transportation costs to the PEs for the victims.

It must be said that this is not supported by our policies, but we are committed to finding the means to respond to such a request. This shows how willing we were to help the victims attend the VOD session, said Nxumalo.

Koen said they disputed this.

We first received information from the department that Hewitt would accept a victim-offender dialogue if all of his victims were present in person. I responded by asking them why they allowed an offender to dictate the conditions of the meeting. Judge Siraj Desai then ordered that dialogue with the only survivor living abroad be done via Skype or a similar program.

She said she received a response from the department that all victims are responsible for their own costs if they wish to attend a parole hearing.

They will need to make special arrangements for us to attend, said Koen.

In addition to the emotional turmoil the parole hearing is now causing, Koen said Olivia now faces the added stress of risk from Covid-19.

The least they can do is change the location, she said. It is unfair to expect us to come there.

She said that even if Olivia would attend the parole hearing, she would also make written submissions. MC

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