Former media executive Willem Breytenbach appears in court.
PHOTO: Brenton Geach/Gallo Images
- Former teacher and journalist Willem Breytenbach will have to wait a month to find out if any charges against him will be dropped.
- He argued that the dates of the alleged incidents are not specific, making it difficult to plan a defense.
- These charges emanated from a podcast, My Only Story.
In March, a ruling will be handed down on the request by former teacher and journalist Willem Breytenbach to drop some of the indecent assault charges against him.
Breytenbach was arrested in December 2019 following a podcast, My Only Story, by Deon Wiggett.
The National Prosecutor’s Office says he faces 14 charges of indecent assault or sexual assault, but wants some of the charges dropped.
These are understood to be indecent assault charges.
He faces 11 counts of indecent assault, four counts of sexual assault and one count of felony slander.
READ | Home accident delays Willem Breytenbach sexual assault case
Breytenbach has yet to plead guilty, but News24 decided it would be in the public interest to identify him. He also previously worked for Media24.
He feels that the State did not provide the dates of the alleged events, despite repeated requests for more details, and this means that he will have to obtain an alibi for each day of each year in the charges, in order to defend himself.
When the podcast was originally launched, he quickly packed up and left his Cape Town business and home, turning his back on a long career as a schoolteacher, journalist and mentor to young journalists.
The Cape Town Regional Court is expected to rule on the request to drop some charges on March 22.
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