On Tuesday the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court granted Nicholas Maré, owner of Tariro Model Management in Loop Street, R10 000 bail; he was also placed under house arrest.
VK News previously reported that the modelling agency owner was arrested after an investigation was launched into the rape of a 14-year-old girl, who was booked for a photoshoot at the agency.
Maré has been charged with the digital rape, defined as sexual penetration using his fingers, of girls while working at the agency. Further charges could be added should more victims come forward or if child pornography is discovered on his electronic devices.
It is reported that the prosecution produced a report on why Maré should be denied bail, one of them including that he had previously been arrested for sexual deviancy. Despite attempts by the defence to challenge the admissibility of the report, Magistrate Ronelle Olivier deemed it admissible.
“South Africa suffers a crippling scourge of gender-based violence. The general misconception by the public when people are arrested and charged with cases like this is that they should not be granted bail. Unfortunately, the law does not allow for such a simplistic interpretation,” the Magistrate said.
The Magistrate reported that Maré was granted bail due to his health being at further risk should he be placed at Pollsmoor prison where a high number of positive Covid-19 cases has been reported.
The case was postponed to 23 September to allow for further investigation.
