Appeal against sentence in sexual abuse case allowed

The Pretoria High Court yesterday granted the State leave to appeal against the ‘lenient’ sentence imposed on a former SA Air Force colonel who sexually abused his stepdaughter. In November last year Magistrate Len Kotze sentenced the man to three years’ correctional supervision and house arrest after convicting him of three charges of indecent assault and one of incest, reports The Mercury. Yesterday, Judge Chris Botha granted the State leave to appeal against the sentence. The Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Retha Meintjes, said in court papers that the grounds of appeal included that the magistrate had played down the gravity of the offence and the impact it had had on the victim. The Mercury report not available online    Supplied courtesy of Legalbrief Today.