Alleged paedophile free to visit public spots

Alleged British paedophile Nigel Lee Tucker may now exercise at an open-air gym in Sea Point. His bail conditions were relaxed in the Cape Town Community Court yesterday.

Tucker's attorney, Leon van der Merwe, withdrew an original appeal to have the tracking bracelet fitted to his client's ankle removed.

Van der Merwe said Tucker wanted to run to the gym on the Sea Point promenade, which is almost 3km from his house.

In court, Tucker held up the leg of his pants, showing a large bracelet, and said that he would have to strap the bracelet with compression tape to try to make his run more comfortable. He also asked for permission to visit the Sea Point public swimming pool.

State advocate Christopher Burke agreed to the request.

The 53-year-old Tucker is set to appear again on February 28.

He was arrested in Cape Town in March last year and faces 42 counts of indecent assault allegedly committed between 1983 and 1993 in his home country. Authorities in the UK want him extradited to face the charges, but he has been fighting hard not to go back.

His lawyer, Reuben Liddell, had previously told the court that he should be released immediately because indecent assault is no longer punishable in South Africa. The offences, argued Liddell, are also not extraditable transgressions.

Meanwhile, a six-month investigation by the UK's Channel 4 News lifted the lid on how a prominent British lawyer, John Smyth, allegedly "severely assaulted boys and young men for decades".

The beatings took place at Christian holiday camps in the UK.

Smyth, 75, has since been dismissed from his leadership position at a Cape Town church. He has also been dismissed as director of the Justice Alliance.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Peter Robertson, one of Smyth's alleged victims, described how he was often beaten. Now 56, Robertson said he met Smyth through the Christian Forum at school.

"He was particularly interested in the usual teenage stuff - masturbation, indecent thoughts, pornographic magazines. That got my attention immediately," he said.