15
were going somewhere by car, Mrs B entered the lounge where the appellant was
reading the newspaper and asked him to leave their home. She alleged that the
appellant had molested the complainant and A. He left the house.
[34]
Under cross-examination, he testified that he had felt ‘somewhat shocked’
when Mrs B had made these accusations against him. He had not, however, then told
her about the complainant’s alleged homosexual relationship or about an incident that
had allegedly happened in the first quarter of 2002 – about which he had testified in
his examination-in-chief – during which he (the appellant) had woken up to find A
trying to open the zip of his trousers. According to the appellant, A had accompanied
him to visit the T family and, at the T family home, the appellant had taken two
painkillers because of a headache and had gone to lie down in one of the bedrooms.
When he woke up, A was tampering with the zip of his trousers. He (the appellant)
took A to task about this, told him that he must never do it again and took him back
home.
[35]
The reason given by the appellant for his failure to mention either of these
things to Mrs B when she accused him of having molested her sons, was that he did
not want to get into an argument with her, impliedly because of his medical condition.
The appellant conceded that, in view of his previous convictions, he had to be very
careful in his relationships with children and that if his version of the boys’ conduct,
particularly A’s behaviour, were true, this could have placed him in a very difficult
and dangerous position. He reiterated, however, that he had rebuked A for his
behaviour and that the latter had never again behaved in such a manner. He insisted
that the incidents of sexual activity about which the complainant and A had testified
had never happened and that both boys had been lying to the court. He had been very
good to the B family and had no idea why they would lay such charges against him.
[36]
The appellant admitted that, before this confrontation between himself and
Mrs B in 2003, he had again been charged with a sexual offence, committed in
Randfontein, the allegation being that he had indecently assaulted a minor child on 2
November 2000. He was convicted on this charge and sentenced on 21 November
2002. According to the appellant, he had told Mrs B about the pending matter in
November 2000, long before it had been finalised. He had pleaded not guilty to the
اختر الفقرة المستهدفة3
الاتصال بفقرة
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
أضف إلى جدول المحتويات