Further allegations of police incompetence arose in the Pretoria High Court sex-crimes trial of advocates Dirk Prinsloo and Cezanne Visser on Friday.
Prinsloo’s advocate, Piet Coetzee, questioned senior superintendent Rudi van Olst about several aspects of the search and seizure at the couple’s Raslouw, Pretoria, home and their arrest on December 19 2002.
Coetzee suggested that police had moved around freely in the house before the search officially started.
He also accused investigators of refusing Prinsloo’s request for a blood test to prove that he did not use dagga.
Coetzee said his client will deny ownership of dagga found in the safe in the main bedroom.
He also pointed out that the actual find of the dagga was never filmed.
The substance first appeared on the police video of the search after it was already bagged.
Under Coetzee’s questioning, Van Olst conceded that media, present at the couple’s home for the arrest, could only have been tipped off by the police.
He also conceded that at one point police members executing the search laughed loudly over alleged pornographic pictures, and that he had to call them to order.
Van Olst denied he had handcuffed Prinsloo at the scene merely for ”sensation”.
He did so, Van Olst said, because Prinsloo had disobeyed an order to stop making phone calls.
On Thursday, investigating officer Captain Carel Cornelius was accused of trying to trick Visser into confessing and becoming a state witness.
Visser’s advocate, Gerhard Botha, charged Cornelius with irregular conduct for visiting Visser in jail shortly after her arrest.
Visser, dubbed ”Advocate Barbie” for an apparent likeness to the blonde, busty, plastic doll, faces 15 charges of sexual violations of women and girls, and Prinsloo 16.
The charge sheet lists two counts of rape, four of indecent assault, three of enticing a minor to commit indecent acts, one each of fraud, sexual exploitation of a minor and possessing child pornography, two of manufacturing such material, and one of possessing dagga.
Four of their alleged victims were minors.
Prinsloo faces an additional charge of assaulting one of the complainants.
The couple is out on bail of R4 000 each. — Sapa