Claims by two girls of sexual abuse at the hands of two Pretoria advocates were brought into question in the city’s high court on Thursday.
Defence counsel questioned a social worker on why certain serious allegations against the pair came to light only months after the girls’ initial complaints.
Among allegations not initially reported were that advocate Cezanne Visser had used a vibrator in front of an 11-year old girl and had touched the private parts of her then partner Dirk Prinsloo in front of a 15-year-old girl.
The girls’ initial complaints omitted these claims and contained lesser allegations, Philip Loubser contended for Prinsloo.
He was cross-examining social worker Marlene Malan.
Malan sought to explain the omissions by saying it was possible the girls had been so traumatised by their alleged experiences that they relegated these facts to their subconscious.
It was also possible they felt too embarrassed to talk about it.
On Wednesday, Loubser accused Malan of having helped ”build” a case against Prinsloo and Visser — saying the charges appeared to have grown in seriousness as time progressed.
Prinsloo faces 16 charges and Visser 15 in relation to alleged sexual violation of women and girls.
Among the two girls’ other complaints were being shown pornographic videos and magazines, Visser swimming naked and showing a tattoo of Prinsloo’s first name on her private parts to the 11-year-old.
The girls were taken out of a children’s home by the pair over separate weekends in 2002. — Sapa