Surprise as George court finds 6 men not guilty in assault case

In a surprise twist in the George Regional Court this morning, the six men accused of the brutal assault of Maximilian Reimann (21) in Pacaltsdorp in August 2022 were found not guilty.

George Herald reports the judgement was handed down in terms of Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, which allows a court to acquit an accused person at the close of the prosecution’s case if it finds there is no evidence on which a reasonable court could convict them of the crime.

This means the court can return a verdict of ‘not guilty’ if the state has failed to establish a prima facie case against the accused.

Reimann was attacked in Mission Street, Pacaltsdorp, during the early hours of August 27, 2022. However, in his evidence, the complainant told the court he could not identify any of the accused as the people who assaulted him.

The six accused, Chaywin van Niekerk (19), Shannen-Lee Botha (19), Jody Botha (22), Sheldon Remas (20), Ethan Bevie (22) and Chadwill Kiewiet (20), have remained in custody since shortly after the incident.

A seventh accused, Johnwill Tarentaal (21), pleaded guilty to assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm in the George Regional Court in August 2023. In his plea, he admitted to kicking Reimann during the altercation but insisted that he had only joined the assault after regaining consciousness from an earlier fight.

After proceedings, Winston Jansen, the accused’s attorney, said it took them three years, one month and 11 days to complete the court case. He had no further comment.

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