A South African court on Monday sentenced former Grand Slam doubles tennis champion, Bob Hewitt, to six years imprisonment for rape and sexual assault.
The judge of the Pretoria court, Bert Bam, said that the Australia-born Hewitt was found guilty of raping two of his students while giving them tennis lessons in the 1980s and 1990s.
The court admitted that the victims were 12 years old at the time of the assault.
The court also had another woman, who testified that Hewitt ‘’rubbed up against her while coaching her in the 1990s’’.
“There are clearly no prospects of rehabilitation.
“The effective period of imprisonment is six years.
“If Hewitt were not 75 years old and in frail health, he would have been sentenced to no less than 20 years,’’ Bam said, adding that the convict alone was to be blamed for his misery.
Prosecution had argued that Hewitt showed no remorse on the crime.
Report said that Hewitt, winner of 15 Grand Slam doubles titles in his playing days, was suspended from the International Tennis Hall of Fame in November, 2012, because of the allegations.
