Cape Town – A former prosecutor facing charges of sexual assault and possession of child pornography, wishes to appoint a privately-funded lawyer, a court in Cape Town heard on Thursday.
Formerly based at the Atlantis Magistrate’s Court, he made his second court appearance on Thursday, in the Parow Sexual Offences Court, before magistrate Elsa van Zyl. He was arrested on December 29 last year, and released on bail of R1 000.
At his first appearance on December 30, before the same court, he said he wished to wait for the completion of the investigation, before deciding on his legal representation. At Thursday’s proceedings, he said he in fact wished to appoint a lawyer, but could not afford one yet, and needed time.
At the request of the court prosecutor – not the accused – the case was postponed to May 5.
The accused, 42, was not asked to plead to the charges, and he may not be identified until his trial commences. At his first appearance, the prosecutor said the State did not oppose his release on bail, and suggested the amount of R2 000.
However, the accused, who had been suspended from his job, said he had in fact resigned his post with effect from December 31, and was currently unemployed. He could only afford R1 000 bail, he told the court, and bail was accordingly fixed at R1 000.
The magistrate said he would remain in custody until his bail was paid. The magistrate warned him that he would be re-arrested, and his bail forfeited to the State, if he violated any of the bail conditions. If re-arrested, he would remain in custody until the eventual finalisation of the case, she warned.
The charge sheet did not give any details of the charges, and the prosecutor said the charges would only be finalised after the completion of the investigation. The charge sheet gave his address as Malan Street, Robertson, but it transpired that he also had a residential address in Malmesbury.
One of the bail conditions bans him from going to Malmesbury or Atlantis, without the permission of the investigating officer. The man said he would live in Robertson with his former wife and daughter, and it transpired also that he was receiving therapy for his affliction in Robertson. He was also attending group support sessions in Malmesbury, he told the court.