Pretoria - His best friend accused him of raping her, which earned him a five-year jail sentence, but a Pretoria man received a lifeline when his conviction and sentence were overturned.
The high court in Pretoria found that the “victim” seems to have “imagined things that did not happen because of hysteria, inebriation or guilt”.
The man, who is not identified as he was vindicated on a charge of rape, turned to the high court to appeal his rape conviction and subsequent sentence. He was sentenced three years ago, but was on bail pending his appeal.
The 23-year-old “victim” claimed she was raped by “her best friend” on April 23, 2010, after they attended a braai. They went to the man’s home afterwards and had a swim. After showering, she got into his bed while dressed.
Her version is that she fell asleep and when she woke up he was having sex with her. She said she didn’t wake up when he undressed her, nor when he started having sex with her. She was unsure about what exactly happened, but told the court she was fully dressed when she fell asleep, but her trousers were pulled down when she woke up.
The man testified that both of them had a “shot of shooters”, a bottle of wine and a “few vodkas” at the party. According to him, the woman jumped into the pool when they got back at his house. She teased him for being “a sissy” as he did not want to swim.
He got dressed into his swimming trunks and jumped into the water. Afterwards, both of them had a shower, they got into bed, he said, and cuddled “to warm each other up”. At some stage she cried, saying she missed her former boyfriend.
The accused said he comforted her and they fell asleep. Both woke up during the night and as he “wanted to be more than friends and wanted to take their friendship a step further”, started to make advances towards her.
The man said the “victim” was very accommodating and even begged him to kiss her. Things heated up a little and he touched her private parts. The man was adamant that he did not have full blown sex with her, as she at that stage jumped out of bed. She accused him of raping her, which he denied. He then took her home. The woman told her friends afterwards that while she is not sure what happened, she thought she was raped. A doctor, upon examining her, couldn’t find any indication of rape.
Her friends testified that they had seen her before with her “rapist” and that they often touched each other and swam and played around. According to them the woman seemed to be very comfortable with the man.
The magistrate accepted the woman’s evidence. But two high court judges - Mabel Jansen and MD Mohlamonyane - said
rape or attempted rape had not been proven.
Pretoria News