Fmr tennis ace Bob Hewitt, convicted of child rape, released on parole

Former world tennis champion Bob Hewitt is back home with his family after serving just over half of his jail sentence for child rape, the weekly Sunday Times reported.

Hewitt, now 80, was convicted in March 2015 of raping two teenage tennis players and sexually assaulting a third in the 1980s and 1990s, while he was their coach.

Women who were already grandmothers testified at the trial that they had been in awe of the then international tennis sensation, who took advantage of them. One of them was just 12 when Hewitt raped her.

They said attempts to address the matter were whitewashed at the time because of his stature.

An earlier decision last year by the South African Correctional Supervision and Parole Board to grant Hewitt parole was overturned by a high-level review panel chaired by Judge Siraj Desai.

This was because Hewitt's victims were not granted the opportunity to make representations at the initial parole hearing.

Hewitt was sentenced to six years in prison in May 2015 ..