Bitter ex-wife, who kept father away from child by falsely accusing him of rape, ordered to pay R665,000 in damages

A woman, who falsely accused her ex-husband of assault and rape in an attempt to keep him away from their daughter, has been ordered by the Western Cape High Court to pay him R665,000 in damages.

The man’s nightmare started after he got divorced in July 2012.

On September 18, 2012, the ex-wife falsely accused him of breaking into her home at a farm in the Ceres district and raping her.

She further added that the ex-husband physically assaulted her and tied her to a table.

To legitimise her lies, she consulted a doctor who completed a statutory J88 medical report and she also reported the details to the police and a charge of housebreaking, assault and rape was opened.

Despite having an alibi showing that he was 50km away at a casino in Worcester with his new wife, police ignored the CCTV footage, arrested him and detained him for 17 days.

The wife called witnesses during his trial, but refused to testify.

During the trial, he had to report to the Ceres police station twice a week and could not leave the Western Cape. He had his passport taken and could not see his child unless a court ordered the visit. However, it never happened and he has not seen the child since.

He spent a year trying to prove that the charges were trumped up, and was subsequently acquitted on September 13, 2013.

The now 68-year-old man could not return to work as a head waiter at the cruise ship because of the dark cloud hanging over his head.

The former couple met while they were both working at a cruise ship. The man, who is an Italian citizen, was a head waiter when he met his ex-wife who worked as a waitress.

Their relationship started in 2001 and in 2004, they decided to get married and settle in South Africa. They bought two adjoining farms, Driefontein and Rietvallei, in the Ceres district and went to live on Driefontein. Their daughter was born in 2006.

After four years of marriage, in December 2009, the ex-wife moved out of their marital home and left their child to stay with their neighbours at a farm in Langfontein.

When the father went to see his child a couple of days later, there was strife and the police were called. He was arrested and he spent the night in jail.

During the divorce, they each had two cases against each other.

The main issue during the divorce was ownership of the farms and the father’s contact with the child.

In a welfare report, dated November 22, 2012, a probation officer reported that the wife told him she would do everything within her power to ensure that the father never had any contact with their child.

The probation officer mentioned that the ex-wife harboured intense hatred towards the ex-husband and would do everything within her power to alienate the child from him.

After the charges were withdraw, he instituted a damage claim of more than R14 million against her for, among others, defamation, she in turn instituted a counter claim of more than R11 million, however, she later withdrew her counter-claim.

The ex-wife’s attorney withdrew from the case without providing her physical address. The ex-husband employed the services of a private investigator and she was eventually traced to an address in Tokai, Cape Town, on August 2021.

When handing her the summons, it transpired that she was dating the neighbour she moved in with when leaving her marital home in December 2009.

She asked for a postponement to obtain legal representation and finances, pleading poverty, notwithstanding the fact that she received R12.5 million after selling two properties.

Judge Patrick Gamble, who presided over the matter, denied the postponement as the ex-wife was not present, citing financial challenges.

In the witness box, the husband was asked what he hoped to accomplish by continuing the lawsuit in a situation where he might not be able to get money from his former wife, who was claiming poverty.

In response, he said that clearing his name was crucial. He stated that he still has a strong desire to return work as a chief steward on the cruise ship and clearing his name was important so that he could be considered for the job.

In his judgment, Gamble said these allegations, once made, were difficult to erase from the public perception when the perpetrator is acquitted or when the State declines to continue with the prosecution.

“In a society which is racked by extraordinarily high levels of gender-based violence, the ex-wife chose to accuse the ex-husband of the most unspeakable of crimes, rape in a domestic setting. A crime for which sentences ranging between 10 years and life imprisonment are prescribed,” he said.

Gamble added that the award of damages in this case will invariably be high, especially where the defamation is aggravated by persistence, malice and intense hatred.

“The ex-wife shall pay the ex-husband a sum of R665,000 for damages. The said sum of R665, 000 shall attract interest at the prescribed rate from date of judgment to date of payment,” said Gamble.

IOL NEWS