Paedophile Grand Slam Tennis Champion Bob Hewitt, 75, is Jailed for Six Years
-For the Rape and Sexual Assault of Young Girls During Private Coaching Sessions
- Australian-born doubles champion told one victim that 'rape is enjoyable'
- Jailed despite claiming he suffers poor health and feared attacks in prison
- Convicted of two charges of rape and one sex assault in 1980s and 1990s
AP, 18 May 2015
Former Grand Slam tennis champion Bob Hewitt (pictured at an earlier hearing) has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting young girls he was coaching
A former Grand Slam tennis champion has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of raping and sexually assaulting young girls he was coaching.
Australian-born Bob Hewitt, 75, attacked three girls in the 1980s and 1990s, telling one victim that 'rape is enjoyable' as he assaulted her.
He was jailed despite testifying at his sentencing hearing in South Africa today that he suffers from poor health.
He also said he had received anonymous threatening letters, warning of possible assault in prison.
Hewitt's wife, Delaille, broke down during her testimony, describing how her family was harassed throughout the trial.
She said production on their citrus farm will halt if Hewitt was jailed.
Judge Bert Bam found Hewitt guilty of the offenses at a hearing in March.
Hewitt 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.
But Judge Bam, sitting at the South Gauteng High Court outside Johannesburg, South Africa, said that the evidence against him was 'overwhelming'.
During the trial, his victims said that Hewitt, best known as a doubles star, assaulted them during private tennis lessons when they were young girls.
One woman testified that Hewitt had told her 'rape is enjoyable' as he assaulted her.
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.
Hewitt appears in the High court in Johannesburg, South Africa, in March. He was jailed despite testifying at his sentencing hearing that he suffers from poor health and feared attacks if he was sent to prison
Hewitt won numerous Grand Slam events during his career in the 1960s and 1970s and was named to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992.
But his name was removed from the hall of fame in 2012, following allegations that he sexually abused girls he coached.
A South African group called Women and Men Against Children's Abuse helped two other accusers come forward and petitioned South African prosecutors until Hewitt was brought to trial this year.
Hewitt was born in Dubbo, Australia, but has spent much of his life in South Africa.
Hewitt in action against Jimmy Connors at the Wimbledon tennis championship in 1972
He won nine Grand Slam doubles and six Grand Slam mixed doubles titles in the 1960s and 1970s.
Hewitt also reached the semi-finals of the men's singles at the Australian Open three times, and won the Davis Cup with South Africa in 1974 after settling there.
His doctor said last year that Hewitt remained ill after suffering a stroke in 2010 and a heart attack in 2011.
Hewitt (centre) receives the doubles trophy from Princess Marina at the 1967 Wimbledon championships
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