The pre-sentencing procedures of model agency boss Dawie De Villiers, guilty of charges including rape, sexual assault, and sexual grooming was postponed in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Following lengthy arguments by the State and defence the pre-sentencing proceedings was further delayed.
Advocate Anton Lerm, who was standing in for De Villiers’s new council, made an application to have the pre-sentencing proceedings postponed for a further six weeks for the pre-sentencing report to be compiled as well as for an order to be made for the trial to be transcribed in order to update his new defence team.
The founder of Modelling South Africa (PTY) was found guilty of rape, sexual assault, sexual grooming, fraud, exposure of pornography to children and access to child pornography last month.
Prosecutor Arveena Persad told the court that she had been contacted by Legal Aid on Monday, and was told that De Villiers was seeking assistance and that the advocate allocated to him had another matter to deal with and could not be present.
Lerm told Judge Cassim Moosa that De Villiers had shown him proof that he had paid a private practitioner who would be compiling the pre-sentencing report.
“She was previously the compiler of the pre-sentencing report but now she has been placed with funds,” he said.
“After the six weeks they will be ready.”
Persad said that it was unnecessary for the proceedings to be transcribed as the case was already in the sentencing stage.
She reminded the court that De Villiers was recording the proceedings and making notes during the trial. She said his council at the time were also taking notes of the trial. She added that the judgement by the court could also be used by the pre-sentencing report practitioner.
Persad argued that the case had already gone on for too long and the transcription in another case she was working on had taken around two years and she did not think a court order could make the transcribers to move faster.
“It doesn’t make sense why we will get the transcription at the cost of the State,” she said.
“This court has experience to know that the record doesn’t show mitigating factors for sentencing, the court needs to consider society. It is the waste of state resources. I don’t want to second guess the accused but it is unfair and unreasonable.”
Persad notified the court that she was sent an email by the practitioner, which stated that she would need six to eight weeks to compile the report and would only be able to be present in court in June.
“The State opposes such a lengthy postponement, it’s unreasonable we can stand the matter down till tomorrow, he can surely find another practitioner,” she said.
She said that if the matter was postponed for a lengthy period, De Villiers’s bail conditions would need to be reviewed as he was already convicted.
Lerm said the State had the right to oppose the postponement but it would be easier to work with a hard copy transcript of the trial than from a computer screen, and from a practitioner’s view he would also request a copy of the transcript.
“I might pick up something in the evidence that someone might have missed that can help build up mitigating circumstances,” he said.
Persad provided an email that was written in Afrikaans stating that consultations had been done by the pre-sentencing report practitioner and the only set back was that payment was not made.
Earlier De Villiers told the court that he needed time to consult with the pre-sentencing report practitioner.
The matter postponed to March 17.
– African News Agency (ANA)
