Military doctor to appeal rape and sexual assault conviction
The doctor was stationed at the Oudtshoorn Military Base and was accused of two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
CAPE TOWN, April 22 (ANA) – A military doctor will be appealing his sentence in the Western Cape High Court on Friday.
Dr Denzil Clinton King was stationed at the Oudtshoorn Military Base and was accused of two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.
King is alleged to have examined two recruits from the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in 2016.
According to court documents, the complainants went to see King on different days, did not know each other and belonged to different platoons.
On April 8 and 18, 2016, the first complainant was sexually assaulted.
On April 21, 2016, the second complainant saw King for an ear infection when he raped her.
The two complainants reported the sexual crimes to their respective squad leaders.
During the trial at the Oudtshoorn Regional Court, King claimed the charges were false and had been brought against him in retaliation for not booking the complainants off sick, which would have exempted them from physical training.
On May 28, 2018, King was convicted on the charges brought against him by the court.
He was sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment for rape and three years’ imprisonment for each of the sexual assault charges.
The magistrate ordered that the sentence of one of the sexual assault charges run concurrently with the rape sentence, and half of the other sexual assault sentence also run concurrently with the rape sentence.
Effectively, King was sentenced to nine and a half years’ direct imprisonment.
King has, however, been successful in his petition to the Western Cape High Court and obtained leave to appeal against his conviction and sentence, which he now seeks to overturn.
Provincial spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said the State will be opposing the appeal.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
