Former tennis Grand Slam champion and convicted rapist Bob Hewitt has failed in his final bid to stay out of jail. In March last year, High Court Judge Bert Bam found the 75-year-old Addo resident guilty of raping Suellen Sheehan and Theresa Tolken and of sexually assaulting another young woman.The victims were teenagers at the time and Hewitt was their tennis coach. Hewitt was sentenced to an effective six years in prison for the crimes which were committed in the 1980's and 90s and was also ordered to pay R100-000 to the Department of Justice, which would use the money for programmes involving victims of rape and sexual assault. Hewitt applied for leave to appeal Bam's conviction.
Bam dismissed this, but granted him leave to appeal his sentence.In June of this year, the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein dismissed his appeal to have his six-year jail sentence overturned, and said his fame did not earn him special treatmentHewitt then turned to the Constitutional Court, which has now dismissed his application, saying it lacks prospects of success.Hewitt has remained out on bail throughout the appeals process, but is now facing the prospect of having to begin his jail sentence.
Woman and Men against Child Abuse (WMACA) Founding Director Miranda Friedmann has welcomed the Constitutional Court ruling in the Hewitt matter. She said its a major victory for the rights of children in South Africa and for adult survivors of child abuse who were prepared to go through a public trial and let people know what happened to them as children."I think our Courts in South Africa have really stood by and stood up for children's' rights. Today what we are really seeing is no matter how famous, how powerful or how rich you are, if you abuse children there is going to be justice," she said.
Friedmann told AlgoaFM News that according to the Constitutional Court Ruling, Hewitt now has seven working days to report to the registrar of the High Court in Johannesburg to begin serving his sentence. She praised the victims Suellen Sheehan and Twiggy Tolken for putting their lives on hold for the duration of the trial.
Sheehan told Algoa FM News that she hoped other women who were unable to be heard or chose not to be heard, now find their peace. "I hope that this helps women, men and children around the globe to have the courage to speak out until they are vindicated. It's been a long hard 5 years but it's over. Special thanks to Mr. Hewitt for teaching me to get every ball back. Special thanks to my mother and brother for teaching me that their opinion was just that. Their opinion," she said.
