Advocate Cezanne Visser will not take the stand in her sex-crimes trial, the Pretoria High Court heard on Monday.
The state finally closed its case against Visser more than a year after the trial started.
Prosecutor Andre Fourie told the court no evidence would be led on one of the charges — that of exploiting a minor by paying her to commit sexual acts over a period of more than a year — and withdrew the charge against Visser.
Visser’s advocate, Casper Badenhorst, thereafter closed her case as well, telling the court she would not be testifying and had no other witnesses to testify in her defence.
Visser’s trial continued in the absence of her co-accused and former lover, Advocate Dirk Prinsloo, after he failed to return from a trip to Russia last month. Interpol is looking for him.
Her trial was postponed to August 15 for final argument. It is expected that judgement will take several days to complete.
The record of the trial, which started in January 2004, comprises more than 3 000 pages, much of it devoted to legal skirmishes between Prinsloo’s legal representatives and the state.
When the trial started, Visser and Prinsloo presented a united front and were seen sitting close together and often holding hands, but the rift between them later became obvious when they sat in opposite corners of the dock and Visser requested Prinsloo to move away from her.
This, and Visser’s failure to cross-examine several witnesses, including some of the alleged child and adult victims who claimed they were sexually abused, later prompted Prinsloo to apply unsuccessfully for the separation of their trials.
He claimed Visser was ”helping the prosecution” and was in effect ”admitting guilt”, but Judge Essop Patel turned down his application. The judge later also refused to postpone the trial so that Prinsloo could apply for the judge’s recusal.
When Visser’s trial resumed after Prinsloo absconded, the state refused to accept her admissions in which she apparently tried to justify her conduct.
The trial was delayed when Visser suffered a nervous breakdown, but the prosecution thereafter proceeded to lead the evidence of several more witnesses, including a teenage girl who allegedly had to witness Visser being stimulated with a vibrator and the two advocates having sex in front of her.
A woman also told the court that Prinsloo forced her to perform oral sex on him after calling her into his bedroom. Although Visser was not present, she later made a statement claiming the woman had voluntarily taken part in the sex act, which she had witnessed.
A medical doctor on Monday testified that the woman appeared very anxious, shocked and upset when he examined her after the incident.
Prinsloo had phoned him the next day, asking for the case number and telephone number of the investigating officer, but the doctor referred him to hospital authorities. He had given the woman the option of being admitted to hospital, which she refused, and gave her a sick note without stating the reason for her illness as he had regarded it as ”sensitive and confidential”.
Visser and Prinsloo have both denied guilt on a total of 15 charges of rape, indecent assault, soliciting minors to commit indecent acts, exploiting a minor, the possession and manufacture of child pornography, possession of dagga, and fraud.
The state alleges that the two convinced the Bramley children’s home to entrust two young girls to their care for weekends by pretending that they were married and wanted to take care of the children financially, while in fact their aim had been to involve the children in sexual acts.
They allegedly also drugged, indecently assaulted and raped a 14-year-old girl and a female friend and molested two adult women.
The court earlier heard that police had found piles of pornographic videos, magazines and photos during a raid on Prinsloo’s Centurion home. A photo album containing explicit pornographic images, including two photos showing Visser performing sexual acts with two apparently underage girls, was also found in the house.
A paediatrician later testified that both girls appeared to be under the age of 18. He also testified that children of as young as five years old were portrayed in pornographic images unloaded from the internet and allegedly found in the two accused’s possession.
The trial will continue on August 15. — Sapa