CAPE TOWN - An Eastern Cape attorney has been convicted on charges of rape and assault in the Makhanda High Court.
Sentencing proceedings are currently underway.
The 49-year-old attorney from East London was convicted of raping his wife twice, in February 2021 and May 2019.
He was also convicted on two counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
The attorney cannot be named to protect the identity of his wife, the victim.
During her judgment, Judge Judith Robertson rejected the attorney’s defence that he “lacked criminal capacity” caused by a combination of alcohol abuse and a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity Ddisorder (ADHD).
Robertson said his actions were focused and goal directed and accepted the victim’s version as it corroborated the evidence.
During court proceedings, the attorney admitted to enjoy watching “violent pornographic material” and stated he had performed some of the violent sexual acts on his wife with her consent.
On February 15, 2011, the man and his now 46-year-old wife were at their Beacon Bay home when she discovered messages on his cellphone from another woman. The wife was 10 weeks pregnant at the time.
The woman confronted her husband and the altercation got physical. He grabbed her by the throat with force and pushed her against a wooden sliding door. She sustained various injuries to her body.
On February 14, 2012, Valentine’s Day the couple were at a lodge where the husband spent the latter part of the evening drinking with others while the wife went to sleep. Upon his return to their room he woke her up and demanded sex.
She refused and he instructed her to undress so he could take photographs of her. A struggle ensued and he forcefully pushed her down, strangled her and hit her head against the floor.
The court heard he then proceeded to force his wife to head into the outside bushes while naked. In the bushes he hit her with a tree branch.
When the couple returned to their room he performed violent sexual acts on her, which included rape.
He also forced her to perform oral sex on him. She fell ill and reported the abuse to her doctor and mother.
In May 2019, the couple attended an event together in East London and the husband consumed alcohol.
When they arrived home he demanded sex from his wife and when she refused he followed her around the house and wanted to take pictures of her as she was naked.
She tried to grab a phone but he grabbed her by the throat, pinned her down with his knees and strangled her.
He then proceeded to pull her to the bedroom where the court heard the assault on the wife continued.
The court further heard that the husband went on to perform violent sexual acts on the wife, this included rape.
She endured being raped, beaten and had violent sexual acts performed on her against her will throughout the night to the point of her bleeding.
The court also heard the man took videos of his crimes using his wife’s phone and transferred the content via WhatsApp to his phone.
The case continues.