Man jailed for rape, murder of sex worker appeals against rape conviction

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Cape Town - A man serving 20 years for raping and murdering a sex worker in 2014 said the court had erred in convicting him of rape, and contends he had consensual sex with the woman. Eben Kotze’s appeal was heard before a full bench in the Western Cape High Court on Thursday. Kotze was convicted on November 28, 2018 of raping and murdering Crystal Ann Newman, 23, on August 15, 2014. Judge Babalwa Mantame sentenced him on December 1, 2016 to two 15-year jail terms, one for the murder and the other for rape. Ten years of the rape sentence would run concurrently, meaning he would serve 20 years in jail. Kotze’s legal representative, Christiaan Brand, submitted that the state pathologist, during the trial, had conceded that Kotze could have had consensual sex with Newman. “The victim’s mother’s evidence was that she was addicted to tik. The appellant says the victim was aggressive from the time they met on the day in question,” Brand said.

Judge Siraj Desai said: “The fact of the case is the appellant and the deceased were in the same room together voluntarily. They spent some time in the room and something went wrong. We know that he murdered her and sex did take place because his DNA was found on her.”

The State, in its heads of argument, submitted its case on the rape count rested on the evidence of doctor Mandy Date Chong, who said she had detected vaginal injuries in the victim, which turned out to be bruising.

Prosecutor Mbulelo Koti submitted: “The manner in which the body was when it was recovered is consistent with a person’s body that was violated.”

Judgment will be delivered on Tuesday.

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