Former doubles tennis champion and convicted rapist Bob Hewitt will bring “new evidence” before the Constitutional Court in the form of controversial e-mails.

The Johannesburg High Court heard this on Monday when Hewitt applied for bail pending his final bid to appeal his convictions and sentence.

Judge Brian Spilg granted Hewitt’s bail. He will give reasons for the decision on Wednesday.

Hewitt will now ask the Constitutional Court to deal with the e-mails which first came to light in October last year.

Rapist Hewitt must serve six years in jail

The SABC had reported that it had obtained the e-mails which proved that Hewitt’s three victims communicated with each other extensively before his trial. The decision to publish these e-mails was met with backlash by supporters of Hewitt’s victims.

Hewitt’s advocate Stephanie Green said on Monday these e-mails suggested collusion between the women in order to get his criminal trial off the ground.

She said that the Constitutional Court would be asked to deal with this new evidence or order another court to hear it.

But prosecutor advocate Carina Coetzee said that Hewitt’s legal team had made allegations of conspiracy between his victims during his trial and that judge Bert Bam had found no evidence to support this when he convicted Hewitt.

Coetzee said the e-mails were exchanged in 2012 before Hewitt had been charged with any crime.

Hewitt‚ 76‚ was convicted in March last year of raping two of his former tennis students‚ Theresa “Twiggy” Tolken and a second woman who has asked not to be named‚ in the 1980s. He was also convicted of indecently assaulting a third woman‚ who by order of the court cannot be named‚ in the 1990s.

He was then sentenced to an effective six-year prison term and ordered to pay R100‚000 to the justice department for use in anti-abuse initiatives.

The Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal of his sentence earlier this month.

Hewitt is out on bail of R10‚000.