Tennis star Bob Hewitt convicted of rape in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, March 23 (UPI) -- Bob Hewitt, a former Grand Slam tennis champion, was convicted by a South African court on Monday of raping underage girls.

Hewitt, 75, has denied the charges.

"The state's evidence against the accused is overwhelming," Judge Bert Bam said Monday inside the Johannesburg courtroom.

The Australian-born former tennis star was found guilty of raping former students, Theresa "Twiggy" Tolken and Suellen Sheehan, in the 1980s, and sexually assaulting a third unidentified student in the 1990s.

One of the women testified that Hewitt told her during the assault that "rape is enjoyable."

"The three complainants have basic rights," the judge asserted. "Time did not erase the crimes. A guilty person should not go unpunished. The scales of justice tip against the accused."

Hewitt was remanded into custody after the verdict was read.