Hewitt case delayed again as centralised court move drags on

THE rape trial against former tennis champ Bob Hewitt is now only set to start next year after the matter was again postponed yesterday.

An ill Hewitt, 73, who lives in Addo, was not present when the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court adjourned the case to January to allow for the various matters against him to be heard in one court.

Australian-born Hewitt, who won 15 Grand Slam doubles championships during his career, faces two charges of rape and one of indecent assault for alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.

He is accused of not only molesting young girls whom he coached at the time, but also of raping two 16-year-old girls on separate occasions at Sun City and in Boksburg.

The case was postponed in August after the National Prosecuting Authority applied to have all the charges heard in a centralised court.

Yesterday, stand-in prosecutor Henk Strydom attributed the delay to the recent appointment of new director of Public Prosecutions Mxolisi Nxasana. He said it would take about two more months before Nxasana could sign the necessary paperwork to have the charges heard in one court.

In August, Hewitt’s Port Elizabeth-based lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, asked for the matter to be moved to the Eastern Cape to accommodate his client’s poor health.

A medical certificate was produced, claiming Hewitt’s health had “deteriorated rapidly” over the past few years. He reportedly had a stroke and a heart attack in recent years.

After yesterday’s brief proceedings, Suellen Sheehan, one of Hewitt’s accusers, said the delay angered her and that she would continue to attend all the proceedings.

Outside the courthouse, several protesters carried posters reading “No excuse for child abuse”, “Life sentences for rapists” and “Men rape because they get away with it.”