A group of eight alleged survivors of child molestation perpetrated by the late stockbroker Sydney Frankel say they are filing a civil claim against his estate.
The group on Tuesday approached the Constitutional Court‚ asking it to confirm a South Gauteng High Court order declaring that a section of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA) is unconstitutional.
Section 18 of the CPA imposes a limit of 20 years in which to prosecute sexual assault‚ but the limit does not apply to rape.
The Minister of Justice has conceded that Section 18 of the CPA is unconstitutional.
One of the survivors‚ Shane Rothquel‚ said he was pleased with the minister’s concession‚ as scrapping the section would help thousands of people who are being abused and those who were victims in their childhood but never came forward.
“The crisis is long overdue for attention. There are thousands of us who are being abused‚” Rothquel said.
“As a group of eight people who’ve been abused‚ we are relieved by it [High Court order]. We feel that some sense of justice is being served.”
He said the group would be going to court to file a suit against Frankel’s estate.
Frankel died at his home in Johannesburg earlier this year‚ at the age of 68.
“The civil case we have against Frankel and his estate is even more important to us‚” Rothquel said.
The victims claim the billionaire sexually assaulted them more than 20 years ago in the 1970s and 1980s‚ when they were aged between seven and 15.
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