INLSA

Sex offender Ian Appleton is escorted out of the Paarl Regional Court in Friday after being taken into police custody. Photo: Masixole Feni

Leila Samodien

Justice Writer

SEX offender Ian Appleton has made a last-ditch plea for the forgiveness of his young rape victim’s family – but they have brushed it off and are considering suing him for damages.

Appleton, 74, was hauled off to jail on Friday after he was re-sentenced by the Paarl Regional Court.

Magistrate Nomawethu Smile sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment under correctional supervision legislation, which allows him to be freed and placed under house arrest after at least 10 months.

He was convicted of repeatedly raping a boy – the son of close friends of Appleton, a retired accountant and schoolmaster – on a farm in Stellenbosch in 2007 to 2009. The child was seven when the abuse began.

Before Smile sentenced him, Appleton addressed the court, apologising to the boy’s family and pleading for their forgiveness.

“I once again apologise to the victim and the family for the hurt I have caused… I do still wish I could go back to the good times we shared. I pray we remember the good times and try to put the bad at the back of our minds.”

Appleton promised to stay in a rehabilitation programme for sex offenders for at least eight years, saying he was “prepared to go on right through till the end of my life”.

Appleton is enrolled in the Child Abuse Therapeutic and Training Services (Catts) programme, the efficacy of which has been questioned considering he has been through the programme twice between 1989 and the mid-2000s.

He has committed himself to paying for at least 30 sessions of therapy for the boy.

The child’s parents dismissed Appleton’s apology, saying he “did it for himself and his own peace of mind”, rather than their forgiveness.

They said they were considering lodging a civil claim against Appleton, and asked that it be made clear to the court that his offer to pay for their son’s therapy would not prejudice any civil claims.

“If you look at the victims (of sexual abuse) and parents of victims, most of these guys are affected even today without any compensation for their (continuing) therapy. These things get costlier as time passes,” the boy’s father said.

The boy’s mother added: “You can’t put a price on the damage he has caused our son.”

Smile originally sentenced Appleton to five years in jail.

Appleton appealed and late last year the Western Cape High Court set aside the sentence.

Judges Vincent Saldanha and Daniel Dlodlo referred the matter back to the regional court, ordering that it impose a sentence that would include a period of imprisonment as well as correctional supervision.

Smile commended Appleton for showing remorse, saying it was “rare for the court to see remorse of any kind”.

After Appleton was sentenced, a packed public gallery clapped and cheered.

Appleton has been ordered to remain in the Catts programme for the duration of his sentence, at his expense.

leila.samodien@inl.co.za