The presiding judge in the sex-crimes trial of Pretoria advocate couple Dirk Prinsloo and Cezanne Visser urged lawyers on Monday to do everything possible to speed up the proceedings.
The trial has become ”bogged down” in cross-examination concerning the pair’s arrest and the search and seizure at their Raslouw, Pretoria, home in December 2002, said Judge Essop Patel.
”We need to move beyond that now,” he said.
The court was on Monday meant to finish watching the last three of a series of eight videos taken by police on the night of the arrest and search operation.
The first videos were seen by the court last Friday. They are being shown to a state witness, Senior Superintendent Rudi van Olst, for purposes of cross-examination.
But Van Olst was not available on Monday morning, and the prosecution could not find another witness quickly enough to make up for lost time.
It was then arranged that a state witness take the stand at 2pm, and continue giving evidence until Van Olst was ready again on Tuesday.
Arrangements were made in court for two other police witnesses to watch the series of videos in their own time.
Patel expressed concern that the defence might want to show all eight videos in court again, to each of the two.
”It will be like looking at the [film] Titanic 20 times over,” the judge said.
The prosecution initially objected to the witnesses watching the videos without an attorney being present.
But Patel said he will not allow the court to be dictated to on procedure.
”I don’t want unnecessary obstacles … to impede the progress of this matter.”
The two accused then proceeded to make some technical admissions rendering the evidence of several state witnesses unnecessary.
Among other things, they admitted that 66 photographs taken on the day of the arrest were true copies and an accurate reflection of what had happened.
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.
The trial, which started on January 25, has been set down for three weeks. The state has to date called only two of its more than 30 witnesses. — Sapa