A sex-crimes trial against a Pretoria advocate was postponed in the city’s High Court on Tuesday for two weeks due to her ill health.
Proceedings were to have continued on Tuesday for the trial against Cezanne Visser in connection with alleged sexual offences, some relating to the abuse of minors, but she was found not to be in an ideal psychological or physical state to consult with lawyers.
Visser’s physician, Dr Ernie Hobbs, testified that he and psychiatrist Dr Pierre Nel had prescribed anti-depressants to Visser — after observing her to be displaying signs of tension and anxiety that would interfere with her being able to think normally or make vital decisions.
Judge Essop Patel postponed the trial to June 5. ”Hopefully on that day the trial will proceed to finality,” he said.
Visser’s co-accused, her former common-law husband Dirk Prinsloo, is thought to have fled the country about two weeks ago.
Patel had declared Prinsloo’s R20 000 bail provisionally forfeited to the state and issued an arrest warrant against him when he failed to appear in court earlier this month.
”His failure to appear within 14 days means the provisional order has been made final. The warrant issued on May 9 remains in full force and effect,” the judge said.
Visser’s defence and the state were to have negotiated a possible curtailment of the trial by Tuesday.
Prosecutor Andre Fourie said the defence and the state had planned to discuss shortening the trial by possibly excluding the appearances of certain witnesses.
Casper Badenhorst, representing Visser, said that when discussions were to have continued last week, Visser was too ill to continue.
Prinsloo and Visser face charges of sexual violations of women and girls.
Prinsloo is thought to be in Russia or one of the former Soviet Union states. He apparently called one of his legal representatives before he was due to appear in court on May 9, saying he had left South Africa and ”he was not returning from Russia”.
The court had previously allowed Prinsloo to travel outside the country during the trial. He made at least three trips, including to Russia and the Ukraine, in the past year. — Sapa