De Villiers’ acquittal comes after his attorney applied for a discharge earlier this month.
Former Springbok coach Peter “Snor” de Villiers has been acquitted of sexual assault.
De Villiers appeared in the Malmesbury Regional Court, where the charges against him were dismissed.
Judgment
His section 174 application was heard two weeks ago, and on Thursday, the court handed down its decision.
The charges include attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, and crimen injuria.
De Villiers’ acquittal comes after his attorney, Hennie le Roux, applied for a discharge earlier this month.
Not guilty
Le Roux told The Citizen, De Villiers pleaded not guilty to the three counts.
“What the magistrate found was that the quality of the State’s case was questionable, and if Mr De Villiers had to come and testify in defence, it would’ve been a possibility that he would incriminate himself and supplement the shortfalls in the State’s case.
“The magistrate said in her ruling that putting De Villiers in the witness box and ‘supplementing this confused evidence presented by the state would have violated his constitutional rights,’ Le Roux said.
ALSO READ: Peter De Villiers sacked by GOOD party for sexual misconduct
“The magistrate did find the judgment to dismiss the charges against Mr De Villier. She said there was no prima facie proof that he committed the alleged offences, and any possibility that he may be convicted later.
“The magistrate did justice. This means our constitution is still taken seriously by magistrates. Clearly, he [De Villiers] is innocent. The charge would have been absolutely politically motivated. The man’s life stood still for quite some time. He got vindication, that’s all that matters,” Le Roux said.
Le Roux said De Villiers was relieved by the outcome.
Allegations
De Villiers was accused of sexually assaulting a member of the Good Party in her home in Kalbaskraal outside Malmesbury on 30 January 2023, after he dropped her home following an event.
The former Bok coach was a member of the GOOD Party in Vredenburg at the time.
The GOOD party revoked De Villiers’ membership and removed him as a member of the Western Cape provincial legislature after the allegations of sexual misconduct.
ALSO READ: GOOD party suspends Peter de Villiers over allegations of sexual misconduct
