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.

 

Women's groups seek tough stand on violent crime

In the face of government moves towards lighter sentences to alleviate prison overcrowding, the Consortium on Violence Against Women has called for continued heavy sentences for serious crimes, especially those against women. It says that even if there is proof that minimum sentences contribute to the overpopulation of SA prisons, this is no reason to impose lighter sentences for serious crimes. According to a report in Die Burger, it listed factors that should not be taken into account for mitigation when an offender was being sentenced as: the victim's sexual experience; the offender's cultural beliefs about r ape; the offender's alcohol and substance abuse; the offender's lack of education and bad background; and the victim's seeming lack of physical or emotional damage. Full report on the News24 site    Supplied courtesy of Legalbrief Today.