De Villiers cleared — former Springbok coach acquitted after sex assault case

Peter de Villiers

Cape Town – Former Springbok coach Peter de Villiers has been acquitted of sexual assault charges, and his lawyers say there are currently no plans to take further legal action.

The charges, which included attempted sexual assault, sexual assault, and crimen injuria, stemmed from a complaint filed in 2024 while De Villiers was part of the GOOD Party caucus in Vredenburg.

His lawyer, Hendrik le Roux, said they will review the court judgment before deciding on any future steps, noting that De Villiers’ rights remain reserved.

“We will, at some stage, study the case, record and the judgment and decide what route Mr De Villiers will take in future in regard to this case but at this stage, there’s no plans of continuing of anything further, but obviously his rights remain reserved in this regard,” EWN quoted Le Roux as saying.

De Villiers expressed relief at the acquittal but also sadness, having lost his wife and daughter during the proceedings and faced the legal battle alone.

“He lost a lot in the process because he in this time, he also lost two family members who were close to him, his wife and his daughter, and he was fighting his battle on his own.”

According to The Citizen, De Villiers had pleaded not guilty to three counts, and the magistrate ruled that the State’s case was weak.

Le Roux explained that forcing De Villiers to testify could have violated his constitutional rights and that there was no prima facie proof of the alleged offences.

“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,” the report quoted Le Roux as saying.

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