Advertisement

Former Grand Slam champion Bob Hewitt sentenced for rape

Former Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt looks on ahead of court proceedings at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko
Former Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt looks on ahead of court proceedings at the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

Fifteen-time Grand Slam doubles champion Bob Hewitt was sentenced to six years in prison on Monday.

A South African judge determined the sentence after Hewitt, 75, was found guilty on two charges of rape and one charge of sexual assault of minors, according to Reuters and local media outlets.

He allegedly assaulted three under-age girls while coaching tennis in South Africa in the 1980s and '90s. The Boston Globe reported in February that the first victim said he started assaulting her when she was 12 years old. He allegedly raped her during an overnight trip in 1981. She said in court in February that she attempted to press charges at the time, but prosecutors discouraged her and her parents.

Hewitt had plead not guilty on all charges.

According to the Boston Globe,

The case stems from an investigation the Globe launched in 2011 after Heather Crowe Conner alleged Hewitt began raping her in 1976 when she was a 15-year-old tennis star at Masconomet Regional High School and he was coaching her after he played for the Boston Lobsters.

The Globe spoke with other women, one of whom said Hewitt started abusing her when she was 10 years old.

Hewitt won nine Grand Slam doubles and six Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, as well as advancing to three Australian Open semi-finals, in the 1960s and '70s. Though he was born in Australia, Hewitt won the Davis Cup with South Africa in 1974. He went on to coach children in South Africa after retiring from the pro tour. He later became a tennis analyst, as well.

The Globe repoted that the tennis community knew about the alleged abuse. The South African Tennis Union barred him from coaching girls years again.

“We were all praying and hoping he would get his comeuppance, but he never did," Davis Cup teammate Raymond Moore told the Globe.

Talk Radio 702 reported that Hewitt pled for a lesser sentence Monday, partially due to declining health. He has suffered a hearth attack and a stroke in recent years.

He also told the judge he has received "anonymous threats warning of assault if he is put behind bars," according to Reuters. Hewitt remains free on bail. His wife of more than 50 years has been by his side throughout the trial, and his legal team will appeal the sentencing on Tuesday.