Hot words over nude pics
2005-01-27 17:07
Pretoria - Naked pictures of an ex-wife, girlfriends and friends of Pretoria advocate Dirk Prinsloo led to heated arguments in the city's high court on Thursday when the defence counsel objected to their admission in his sex crimes trial.
The trial staggered through its third day as the court heard arguments and counter-arguments on the legitimacy of the State's plan to admit an album with over 300 pictures, 12 of which allegedly depict Prinsloo's lover, Cezanne Visser, in sexual poses with two minor girls.
Piet Coetzee, for Prinsloo, contended that all photos except for the 12 were irrelevant and therefore inadmissible.
They were pictures of Prinsloo's ex-wife, Visser, and "other friends and girlfriends", he told the court.
They were taken with the consent of all parties, did not constitute a crime, and the State had no permission to seize these pictures in the first place, Coetzee argued.
Sensation
"The only reason the State wants to hand in these pictures is for public sensation," he said.
Coetzee argued that the seizure of the album violated his client's rights to human dignity, association and privacy.
"If I had a photo of myself naked, which I don't, it is mine and not for the world to see," he said to general laughter.
Coetzee added that if police found dagga in a refrigerator they would not seize the entire refrigerator as evidence.
Visser's legal counsel, Gerhard Botha, said the State had no right to seize the majority of the photos in the album because they did not constitute child pornography.
Prosecutor Andre Fourie told the court the album was an exhibit in its entirety. All the pictures were relevant as they would help prove that Prinsloo was the manufacturer of the 12 alleged child pornography photographs.
He also dismissed arguments that the album was wrongfully seized.
'It's not a game'
Judge Essop Patel repeatedly accused Coetzee of seeking to get a court order declaring the seizure of the album unlawful without bringing a properly substantiated application.
"This is not a game," the judge warned Coetzee at one point. "This is a court of law that is duty-bound to administer justice fairly."
Patel also chastised Prinsloo, who jumped up in the dock asking to consult his counsel.
"You will not disrupt this court," the judge said. "This is a court that functions orderly."
When Coetzee said the extra photos would "unnecessarily cloud the issues", Patel retorted that he seemed to be implying the court was "not sufficiently astute and competent to separate the issues".
Wasting time
The judge complained about time being wasted on peripheral issues and made suggestions for the resolution of the matter.
It was agreed in the end that the album be admitted as Exhibit 1, sealed in an envelope and be kept by the court registrar to be brought out only when the need arose.
Copies of the 12 photos relevant to the current witness were handed in separately.
- SAPA