Court lifts ban on naming Dros rape accused
Magistrate’s landmark ruling hailed
A PRETORIA magistrate has ruled that a rape accused can be legally named before he has pleaded.
Media law specialist Jacques Louw says, in response, that to bar the media from naming the accused in sexual offences to only after they have pleaded must be unconstitutional.
There was no reason why suspects of sexual assaults have to be treated differently by the media to, for example, accused thieves or murderers, by waiting until they plead, said Louw.
Despite the law, he has long been a proponent of naming them, which the Cape Times has adopted as a policy, contending it was an injustice from an apartheid patriarchal past, and present.
This after magistrate Marley Mokoena yesterday granted the media the right to photograph accused child rapist Nicholas Ninow on his first appearance, before pleading in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court.
The 20-year-old was accused of raping a 7-year-old girl at a Dros restaurant in Pretoria last week.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Ninow may be named as they do not expect to hold an identity parade.
Unless the naming of the suspect puts the identity of the victim at risk, there should be no reason why the media needed to wait until an alleged sexual perpetrator pleaded, according to Louw.
“Newspapers are the eyes and ears of the public who are not all able to be in court. It’s the public’s right to know what happens and the media has the responsibility to tell them. Waiting until the accused has pleaded must be unconstitutional,” Louw said.
Ninow’s bail application was temporarily postponed. State prosecutor Sanet Jacobson said they were not opposing the application brought by media houses for permission to take photographs inside the courtroom.
However, his legal representative, Riaan du Plessis, tried to argue that they wanted him to be afforded a fair trial and avoid a trial by the media. He said the accused’s life was in danger and the publication of his face in court would further aggravate the racial tensions in the country. He was referring to the public outcry that erupted following the news of the incident.
The magistrate said that because the image of the accused had already been circulated, she would allow pictures to be taken 15 minutes before court proceedings and 15 minutes after it had adjourned. Video recordings were not permitted. The order resulted in the court gallery erupting into applause.
Speaking outside the court yesterday, NPA spokesperson Phindi Louw said once a person appeared in court they could be named unless their identity jeopardised the investigation, and the State may bring an application to bar the naming.
“In this instance… the NPA would have appreciated the media to establish from it if it’s safe to name the perpetrator. It is now safe to name him as we don’t expect to hold an identity parade,” she said.
She added that a sexual offence accused may not be identified if he was related to the victim, so as to protect the victim.
Members of the ANC Women’s League, ANC and EFF, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Foundation, biker groups and student movements converged on the court 16, demanding Ninow be denied bail, which was packed with heavily armed police officials manning access.