Australian-born former tennis Grand Slam champion Bob Hewitt was found guilty Monday in South Africa of raping and assaulting young girls he was coaching there in the early 1980s. Hewitt, 75, had pleaded not guilty to the two charges of rape and one of indecent assault, which were brought against him by three women in 2013.
Judge Bert Bam at the South Gauteng High Court outside Johannesburg described the evidence against Hewitt, best known as a doubles star, as "overwhelming", the SAPA news agency reported.
At the trial, his victims said that Hewitt assaulted them during private tennis lessons when they were young girls.
"Time did not erase the crimes. A guilty person should not go unpunished. The scales of justice tip against the accused," Bam said.
One woman testified that Hewitt had told her "rape is enjoyable" as he assaulted her.
One of his victims said the former champion raped her in his car before tennis practice in 1982, when she was 12-year-old.
Another victim told the court he had touched her inappropriately 34 years ago and forced her to perform a sex act on him when she was 12 and 13. The judge said Hewitt manipulated the young girls and they were intimidated by him.
"It is a victory, yes. It has given me a little freedom to move on with my life," said Suellen Sheehan, a victim who spoke out publicly about her experience and who was present in court.
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