Justice system let me down – Bob Hewitt victim

Olivia Jasriel, one of the women who as a young girl fell victim to convicted child rapist Bob Hewitt, said she felt “exceptionally let down” after the disgraced tennis star was granted parole on Tuesday.

Hewitt’s scheduled parole hearing went ahead at Port Elizabeth’s St Alban’s Prison on Tuesday morning, despite the restricted access to prisons that was last week put in place in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19. By Tuesday afternoon, the parole board had made their decision.

At the time of publishing, correctional services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo was still awaiting the board’s advice on its decision, but attorney Peter Van Niekerk, of Eversheds Sutherland, works closely with local NGO Women and Men and Children Against Child Abuse and represents some of Hewitt’s victims. And on Tuesday afternoon, Van Niekerk confirmed having been notified that Hewitt had been granted parole and said he and his clients were “disappointed, but not surprised”.

On Sunday, Jasriel drove cross-country from her home in Gauteng to the Eastern Cape, to make representations to the parole board around why Hewitt should not be released on parole. She was determined to have her voice heard after Hewitt was last year released on parole without his victims having been properly notified of the process. The decision taken by the parole board’s then to release Hewitt ended up being overturned and the case was remitted back to the board for a new hearing to be convened.

The department confirmed Hewitt’s release, effective on 24 April, in a statement this afternoon.

They said that Hewitt has served three years, six months and 22 days of his six year sentence and has participated in relevant correctional programmes, and was assessed by special services experts, including social workers and phycologists in order to determine his suitability for parole placement.

He will be expected to comply with a specific set of conditions and will be subjected to correctional supervision until the remainder of his sentence expires.

The statement reads: “It is important to note that parole forms part of the total rehabilitation programme in correcting offending behaviour, and it includes the continuation of programmes aimed at reintegration whilst in the system of community corrections.”

Jasriel said she was still considering her options for contesting the board’s latest decision but that her focus, for now, was on driving awareness and working towards improvements in the system “for others, so that they don’t have to go through this”.

She said what had happened would remain with her forever.

“You never close the chapter. It’ll always be a part of my life. I’ll always be triggered, I’ll always have the memories. I’ll always be stuck with that.”

But she said she had “learnt so much”.

“All I can do is educate others and be there to support other victims. I’ve had no support, essentially, from my family but I can give other people what I never had,” Jasriel said, “I find a lot of healing and solace in that.”

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