NEWS
Subject: Rape survivor wins landmark court battle
Date: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 9:43 AM

Rape survivor wins landmark court battle
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.
According to the constitution, all citizens, women in particular, are
entitled to protection against sexual violence.
The case has been described as one of the watersheds for the protection of
women and the public at large against violent criminals.
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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