Hewitt sentenced to six years

Convicted paedophile Bob Hewitt has been sentenced to six years in prison and ordered to pay R100 000 in fines to help fund campaigns against the abuse of women and children, notes a report on the IoL site. Hewitt (75) was convicted in March for the rape of two of his former tennis students, Suellen Sheehan and Theresa ‘Twiggy’ Tolken, who were barely teenagers at the time of the abuse. The former tennis star was also found guilty of indecent assault against a third complainant. In his judgment today (Monday), Judge Bert Bam, of the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria), acknowledged Hewitt's poor state of health, his age, and the effects the case had had on his life. Bam said that the punishment has to fit both the criminal and the crime, and that mercy is always an element the court should consider. However, he said that rape was still rife in South Africa, citing statistics that indicated 120 out of every 100 000 women are subject to the crime. He said if Hewitt had accepted the errors of his actions and shown remorse, this would have been a huge mitigating factor in his sentencing, according to the report. It notes the judge said that preventing Hewitt from re-offending was not of the utmost importance because of the former tennis champion's age, and that retribution became central in his judgment. He noted that sending a man soon to be an octogenarian to a prison sentence would be an incredibly severe punishment, but that it was not uncommon in South African law. He noted, however, that if Hewitt had been younger, he would have most likely to have been sentenced to more than 20 years behind bars. Hewitt's bail has been extended for him to apply for leave to appeal.