Singer says Van Wyk hit on her
2007-04-15 18:54
Pretoria - Another woman, this time a singer, has accused influential music promoter Louis van Wyk of sexually molesting her.
Nedine Blom claims that while he was her manager Van Wyk (of Music Profile) thrust his hand down her pants, and on another occasion he picked her up physically and pressed his body between her legs.
Nedine, who is the present Mrs United Nations South Africa, fired Van Wyk on November 22 last year, just hours after the second incident.
She said this week she was talking about it because she abhorred it when women were sexually molested.
"If I shut up, he'll get away with it," said the redhead whom Van Wyk nicknamed "Flame".
Van Wyk sent a fax to Rapport on Sunday night, describing her allegations as "laughable".
Found guilty of rape
He said the allegations had come out of the blue after they had argued about a CD which was supposed to feature Nedine, and his daughter, Irene-Louise.
Nedine's husband, advocate Bertie Blom, was a member of Van Wyk's legal team in an earlier case in which he was found guilty of rape.
Van Wyk became Nedine's manager in September last year.
The first incident allegedly took place a month later when the Bloms went to braai at Van Wyk's house in Pretoria.
Nedine said: "My husband went to the bathroom and I was standing at the braai fire.
"Suddenly, Louis thrust his hand deep into my pants as if he wanted to feel if I was wearing panties."
She was lame from the shock and didn't say anything to her husband. The next day she phoned Van Wyk.
'Pressed his body against me'
"I told him if he ever did anything like that again I would bliksem him." Van Wyk pretended not to know what she was talking about.
When she reminded him that he had put his hand down her pants, Van Wyk pretended that he hadn't noticed.
On November 22, she arrived early at Van Wyk's house for a discussion of a tour by the Fantastic Four.
"I went to make tea for myself in the kitchen.
"Suddenly, he picked me up from the back, and carried me backwards into the pantry.
"The next moment he turned me around, pushed my legs open and pressed his body in between them.
She says he let her go when she began to squeal like a pig and the domestic worker came to investigate.
Van Wyk's response was: "She's a tiny girl and it's easy to pick her up.
"I remember that in one of our many jokes I picked her up and put her on the pantry counter and gave her a hug, like I'd done many times before in a friendly spirit."
That day, Nedine told her husband about the incidents. He sent an SMS to Van Wyk to warn him.
That night, the couple fired him.
Low-slung hipsters
In his fax to Rapport, Van Wyk said that because of all the allegations of harassment against him his company had decided not to manage female artists any longer.
"The reason for this seems to be that is that as soon as a woman can't get her way her ploy becomes clear."
He said that at times Nedine "wore short tops with low-slung hipsters".
"I remember that, on one occasion at my house, I had my arm around her waist, in the presence of her husband, my children, servants and my girlfriend.
"When the e-mail came it suddenly became my hand in her pants?" read Van Wyk's e-mail.