Cape Town – Glenville Martinus, the rugby coach from Mamre who stands accused of rape, could enter into a plea and sentencing agreement in the Atlantis Regional Court next month.
Martinus appeared in court on Tuesday where he faces four counts of rape.
Martinus, who is out on R10 000 bail, was arrested in March 2020, when four accusers came forward, one of them a 16-year-old.
His bail conditions included not entering the small town of Mamre, outside Atlantis. However, he allegedly breached these court conditions.
He was rearrested in March 2021.
However, according to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila, the accused’s bail was reinstated as the State could not prove that he had breached his bail conditions.
The court ordered that the accused be placed under house arrest.
Ntabazalila confirmed Martinus’s appearance on Tuesday.
“Glenville Marthinus is charged with four counts of rape. His case was postponed to August 23, 2022, for a possible plea and sentencing agreement,” Ntabazalila said.
Martinus is accused of grooming and raping women whom he allegedly lured online, asking for nude pictures and then blackmailing them into doing sexual favours.
The rugby coach is said to have posed as a model agent, doctor and online fitness instructor and lured a number of women by creating fake social media profiles, soliciting nude photos and videos from them.
It has been alleged Martinus used his community work to gain knowledge of his victims’ weaknesses and even befriended their parents for better insight into their circumstances.
Speaking to IOL, Janine Passenz, of the Survivors Haven Foundation, a local organisation that advocates against gender-based violence and focuses on youth development, said it was frustrating to hear Martinus could be entering into a plea agreement with the State.
She said he had wasted the State’s time and resources, not forgetting what had has put the victims and their families through.
“The last nonsense was that he operated as a taxi driver and community members were frustrated because of the fears that he might be targeting new victims.
“We call on the Department of Justice not to ignore all the evidence before them and to consult with those involved before agreeing to a sentence.
“As an organisation, we asked for a minimum life sentence. The damage that was done can never be rewarded with any sentence but we want to send a strong message to perpetrators that we are not going to allow for any more lives to be destroyed when it comes to gender-based violence,” Passenz said.
IOL