Rape-accused cops off the hook
2013-02-01 11:04
Cape Town - Two Cape Town policemen have been acquitted of raping a woman in
a police station toilet, it was reported on Friday.
Western Cape High Court Judge Patrick Goliath ruled on Thursday that the woman's
actions with former Warrant Officer Theodore Syster had "given the
impression" the sex was voluntary, the Cape Times reported.
Syster initially appeared in the dock with policemen Jade Fillies, Theo van
Wyk and administration clerk Beverly Carelse.
Fillies was the only one convicted on a charge related to the incident: he
was found guilty of crimen injuria for videotaping part of it on a cellphone.
Syster and Fillies arrested the woman and her boyfriend on 15 June 2010,
when they were found kissing in a parked car. Evidence before the court was
that the woman's pants were down at the time.
According to The Cape Times, the woman had told the court she was using the
Elsies River police station toilet when Syster burst in and began kissing her.
She apparently played along by giggling and kissing him so he would leave
her alone. She said she had been scared because he was carrying a firearm.
Syster's version was that the sexual act was consensual.
Goliath found the woman could have said no, and he questioned why she had
not reported the alleged rape.
- SAPA
