Cape Town - A police officer has been fined R3 000 and given a suspended sentence after the Western Cape High Court convicted him of crimen injuria for making a video of a senior police officer kissing and touching a woman.
While sentencing Constable Jaede Fillies on Wednesday, Judge Patricia Goliath said he had acted “recklessly” on June 15, 2010.
Fillies was also given a six-month jail sentence, suspended for three years on condition he was not convicted of a similar offence.
He was not declared unfit to possess a firearm as he needed it to continue with his duties as a police officer.
Fillies, now based at the Mossel Bay dog unit, was stationed at Elsies River police station at the time of the incident in June 2010.
He and Warrant Officer Theodore Syster were acquitted of allegations that they kidnapped a 29-year-old Bonteheuwel woman and took her to Elsies River police station. Syster was alleged to have raped the woman inside the police station’s toilet while Fillies made a cellphone recording of the incident.
Instead of reporting the misconduct, Fillies recorded it and kept it on his cellphone.
Judge Goliath said she had taken into account that Fillies was in full police uniform that day, the incident occurred at a police station, that he was a first-time offender and had no pending cases against him.
“Society is without a doubt opposed to police officers acting in this way. The complainant said she looked up to the police and had respect for them, but after the incident she lost her faith in the police,” Judge Goliath said.
The same could be said for society, the judge added.
Syster was acquitted of rape. Two other police employees, admin clerk Beverly Carelse and Constable Theo van Wyk, were initially also charged.
Carelse was acquitted of an array of charges and Van Wyk was discharged at the end of the State’s case last year when there was insufficient evidence against him.
Earlier this week, the court heard that Fillies was found guilty of misconduct during an internal disciplinary hearing after the June 15, 2010, incident. He was fined R500 and suspended for nine months. Six of the nine months were suspended for two years, meaning Fillies is suspended for an effective three months – two of which were unpaid. Fillies declined to comment about the case.
Cape Argus