Sheehan refers the NEWS to WMACA for comment
"We at the WMACA would like to know if the reporters in possession of this 'evidence' have handed these documents to the NPA?"
Suellen Sheehan did not comment on today’s reports by the SABC that it is in possession of correspondence showing that the three women who accused former tennis champion Bob Hewitt (75) of rape and sexual assault may have colluded prior to his trial (read here).
The national broadcaster also reported in correspondence between rape accuser Suellen Sheehan and state prosecutor Carina Coetzee, Coetzee warned Sheehan that her contradictory statements could compromise the case.
In response to the NEWS’ request for comment, Ms Sheehan referred the NEWS to the Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA) when the NEWS requested comment.
In response to the NEWS’ request for comment, the WMACA issued the following statement to the media:
“The only tactic left for Hewitt’s defence lawyers is to attack and discredit the victims again.  After their many efforts to undermine these women in court, they now resort to using the media to shame them even more. Hewitt has shown no remorse for his deeds and now clearly displays a total lack of any consideration for the victims.
“Let us not forget that when Heather Conner (in the USA) disclosed her abuse at the hands of Hewitt, the other victims, realising they were not the only ones, naturally made contact with each other and shared experiences, but that is not collusion – at no point was there a secret strategy discussed or planned for a trial. Surely, Rolf Harris and Bill Cosby’s victims have all made contact with each other – it is healing and comforting to know that after all this time of internal turmoil you are not alone,” says the WMACA spokesperson, Germaine Vogel.
“The SABC article is disappointingly irresponsible. Correspondence between a witness and a Prosecutor is definitely not unusual. The reporter should have provided context at the very least.
“Nowhere did anyone strategise to get a successful conviction and actually they were sharing the emotional challenges around their abuse.
“Right now there is an investigation underway by the NPA to see if any of the legislation in the telecommunications act has been violated, at which point the NPA will prosecute.
“The contact between the women was made long before the case went to court, sharing their experiences, and the long term effects of their childhood trauma.
“What does it say about our society when we blame and shame the victims, instead of the offender who was found guilty in a court of law? Surely this man (Hewitt) now needs to accept the fact that he is in fact a child abuser. He is not in the celebrity spotlight anymore. It’s time the defence stops these despicable tactics, which is certainly of great financial benefit to themselves,” says Miranda Friedmann, the director of WMACA.”
