‘Model boss made my child uncomfortable’

The mother of the woman who was allegedly touched by Dawie de Villiers, said he made her daughter “uncomfortable”.

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Johannesburg - The mother of the 23-year-old woman who was allegedly kissed and touched inappropriately by Dawie de Villiers said she was aware the model agency boss made her daughter “uncomfortable”.

She was giving evidence in the High Court sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday it the trial of the founder of Modelling South Africa (PTY).

De Villiers is accused of 38 counts of rape, sexual assault, indecent assault,sexual grooming, possession and accessing of child pornography as well as fraud and theft. The charges date back to 2010.

The mother told the court that she knew De Villiers via modelling competitions in 2008 when her daughter started modelling.

She said her daughter had told her and her husband about the gestures that De Villiers had made towards her and they decided to open a case against De Villiers in 2009.

“Nothing happened with the case it just went away, we’ve never heard anything about it, it just went away,” she said.

The mother stated that her daughter stopped modelling after the incidents.

“She came to me and said that she’s not comfortable when Dawie is in her presence.”

The mother added: “She also told me that while they were busy practicing he would make her uncomfortable by making her do stuff she isn’t comfortable with”.

She stated that she recalled her daughter telling her that De Villiers had invited her to his house.

“She told me that he wanted her to go work with him at his flat in Johannesburg somewhere and she was very upset.”

Riaan Louw, who together with advocate Jacques Pienaar is representing De Villiers, put it to her that it was not a flat in Johannesburg, but in fact a house in Midrand.

Louw read a statement that was made by the mother and father of the 23-year old woman, which stated that De Villiers had made “sexual gestures” at her.

“It wasn’t part of your testimony that De Villiers requested to have sex with your daughter,” Louw said.

“That’s not how I interpreted it,” the former model’s mother replied.

The mother denied knowing of it.

She told the court that on one occasion she remembered her daughter being upset after a show.

“She was crying and my daughter isn’t someone who just cries, she was very upset.”

She said that her daughter stopped modelling in 2009.

“She showed me conversations between her and Dawie (De Villiers).

“I can’t say word for word it was a long time ago, but what I can remember he was talking to her and she responded back to him like a teenager would she was making jokes.”

The mother later told the court that in 2008 she noticed that her daughter was upset after a modelling competition but she refused to talk.

“Because she’s a teenager I thought it was a teenager just being a teenager.”

The court requested that De Villiers stand next to the 23-year-old woman to compare the height of the two in order to determine whether it was possible for De Villiers to push and kiss the woman against the car.

The mother later told the court that she thought her daughter would tell her about De Villiers asking to swim naked with her.

Louw put it to her that De Villiers would deny the allegations that were made by her daughter.

“I can’t believe that,” she said.

The trial continues Tuesday.

African News Agency

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