NEWS
Rape survivor wins landmark court battle
by Helen Coetzee
News24
Cape Town - Alix Carmichele, a photographer from Knysna, has won a landmark victory, not only for herself, but also for women in general, after a court battle that lasted seven years.

In August 1995, Carmichele was violently attacked by a convicted sex offender who was not behind bars because police recommended he be released.
Two state prosecutors accepted the suggestion without question - after the man had been arrested for a brutal attempted rape and murder.

A mere five months after Francois Coetzee's release, he ambushed Carmichele at her friend's house in Noetzie and attacked her with a pickaxe and knife.

She could not work for seven months. Coetzee, her friend's domestic worker's son, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for the attack.
Entitled to protection
The Cape High Court on Monday ordered the ministers of safety and security and justice to pay damages of R177 000 and Carmichele's legal costs.

The verdict comes after the case went through the Constitutional Court, where it was found that the common law should be developed in such a way that it supported the letter and spirit of the constitution. On Monday, Judge Dayalin Chetty said the police and state prosecutors had been careless and neglected their duty in Carmichele's case.
Danger to women
"Coetzee never should have been released after his first appearance. The brutal attack (for which he was awaiting trial at the time of the attack on Charmichele) confirmed that he was a danger to women and his inclination towards sexual assault should have been clearly noted in the dossier," said Judge Chetty.

Carmichele's friends' appeals that Coetzee was dangerous and should be behind bars were ignored.

Chetty also found that the investigating officer in Coetzee's case, Inspector David Klein, had given false testimony, committed perjury and falsified an entry in his pocket diary.
"Despite the fact that Klein was aware of the content of the dossier, he recommended Coetzee's release. The only conclusion is that he failed in the execution of his constitutional duty to protect Carmichele and others. "The prosecutors accepted Klein's recommendation, but it should have been clear that Coetzee posed a risk to women. Their neglect in mentioning his previous conviction to the court and their decision not to oppose bail, directly led to the attack on Carmichele," said Judge Chetty.

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