There is no amount of money that can right the wrongs committed by a child molester, something that disgraced former tennis star Bob Hewitt will do well to remember.

Hewitt was sentenced by a South African court to an effective six years in jail back in May, although he is currently confined to his house whilst he awaits the outcome of an appeal. He best have a nice nest egg saved up because this latest ruling is going to cost him big. Here’s IOL:

[He] has been ordered to pay nearly R16.6 million ($1.2m) in damages to one of his victims who lives in the US…

…Heather Crowe Conner, a Massachusetts woman, had won her civil case against the 75-year-old, after accusing him of sexually abusing her in the 1970s while he was her tennis coach.

Crowe was a pupil at the Masconomet Regional High School in Massachussets in 1975 when Hewitt, visiting the US, offered to coach her.

The newspaper reported that Judge Denise Casper had ruled that the sexual assaults began in 1975, when Conner was 14, and lasted until 1979.

The judge ordered Hewitt to pay $1m for Conner’s emotional distress and $200 000 for her past and future mental health care.

Whether or not he will pay those fines remains to be seen, Hewitt having failed to respond to the summons to defend himself in the US court. South Africa is also not part of the Hague Convention, meaning that Conner’s lawyer would need our government’s permission to actually enforce the judgement.

However you look at it, the net is finally tightening around a man who was allowed to get away with too much for too long. It will be scant consolation to his victims but will hopefully serve as a deterrent to future offenders.

[source:iol]