A former presenter from a community radio station appeared in the Port Elizabeth magistrate’s court on Wednesday on a charge of sexual assault.
The 36 year old DJ (whose identity is known to Algoa FM) is currently out on bail of two thousand rand.
He cannot be named at this point as he has not yet been asked to plead.
According to the state, the former radio presenter allegedly made several threatening and harassing phone calls to a 22-year-old woman, claiming that he was going to sexually assault and rape her.
The accused is being charged under Section 5 (2) of the Sexual Offences Act.
The Act states, “A person (‘A’) who unlawfully and intentionally inspires the belief in a complainant (‘B’) that B will be sexually violated, is guilty of the offence of sexual assault.”
He is being represented by well know attorney William Booth.
During a court appearance in October last year his supporters unfurled a banner identifying the victim and calling her a liar.
State Prosecutor Linda Le Roux told Algoa FM News at the time that in her 17 years working with sexual offences cases, she had never encountered such open hostility towards an alleged victim of this type of crime.
A number of organisations, including women's rights groups, have also expressed their shock and disappointment at the banner.
The 22-year-old complainant's irate father, who is also a prominent Port Elizabeth businessman, said he was appalled by the incident.
He went to the Mount Road Police station and opened a case of intimidation against the Young Communist League in the Eastern Cape following their alleged involvement in the illegal protest.
The District Secretary of the Youth Communist League, Sia Sevens spoke to Algoa FM news last year and said they immediately removed the banner when they were informed that it was illegal to publicly identify an alleged victim of a sexual crime.
The Young Communist League lists 'no violence against woman and children' as one of the many values they stand for. Sevens confirmed however that they were still supporting the accused and that in their view, the charges had been laid against him because he was a person of colour.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page has since been created implying that the case is nothing more than a smear campaign against the DJ and "that the truth will be revealed."
The page, which was activated on the 8 January, further implies that the DJ is an "invisible threat" to the alleged victim's father who works in the events industry.
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These are some of the images displayed on the Facebook account.The account was last updated on the 4th of February with the following status update
"The State continues to postpone the case for " Further Investigation". In the circumstances, certain content cannot be disclosed. As the case unfolds, we bring you breaking news. We expose who needs to be exposed, and we will challenge who needs to be challenged."
The case was postponed to the 8th of April.
