A judge in South Africa allowed former Grand Slam doubles tennis champion Bob Hewitt to appeal his six-year jail sentence on Friday for rape and sexual assault and extended his bail pending a higher court’s decision.
Judge Bert Bam ruled that he would not, however, allow Hewitt to appeal his guilty conviction for assaults that happened in the 1980s and 1990s. Still, another court may hand Hewitt a different prison term, Judge Bam said, ruling that Hewitt could appeal his sentence.
Defence attorney Johann Engelbrecht tried to challenge the judge’s guilty verdict based on a lack of evidence and time elapsed between the trial and when the alleged crimes took place, but Judge Bam said the prosecution’s case against Hewitt was “overwhelming.”
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The decision to sentence the ailing Hewitt to jail was an “onerous” one, the judge said, because of Hewitt’s age and poor health, and the decades since the alleged rape and sexual assault occurred.