- Lorch finds himself on the wrong side of the law
- He has been found guilty of assault
- Pirates have given their views on Lorch's case
WHAT HAPPENED: On Tuesday, Thembinkosi Lorch was found guilty of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by the Randburg Magistrates' Court. His girlfriend filed a complaint with the Midrand Police in September 2020, leading to his arrest and subsequent release on R2,000 bail.
The incident occurred at Lorch's residence in Midrand. Lorch's girlfriend, Fundiswa Nokuphiwa Mathithibala, reported that he became violent, strangling and beating her. She called for help, and his friend intervened.
The court found the medical evidence and complainant's testimony to be consistent, while Lorch and his witness were deemed unreliable. The Buccaneers have since had their say on Lorch's situation.
Below is Pirates' full statement on the matter.
1. Following our internal investigations, the Club charged Mr Lorch with serious misconduct. He pleaded guilty to the charge and the Club imposed a sanction of a monetary fine and ordered him to undergo anger management therapy.
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2. Mr Lorch also informed the Club that he had instructed attorneys to assist him with the criminal charges against him and they intended to approach the Director of Public Prosecutions (“DPP”) to make representations regarding the charges against him so that he could go through a diversion programme. He further advised that he was attending therapy with Dr. Nomsa Nkuna-Boikanyo as part of his rehabilitation. The Club approved that he completes therapy with Dr Nkuna-Boikanyo instead of running a parallel process organised by the Club.
3. Mr Lorch informed us that he attended the anger management therapy and completed the prescribed number of sessions. Since then, Mr Lorch has not been involved in any similar incident or an incident involving violence. We are confident that the anger management therapy was an appropriate corrective measure.
4. However, Mr Lorch’s representations to the DPP were not successful and the criminal proceedings continued. Today, 6 June 2023, Mr Lorch was found guilty of assault (gender-based violence) and will be sentenced in due course. We currently do not have the full details of the conviction or the sentencing date and have requested Mr Lorch to provide these details.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: It remains to be seen if the club will pull the plug on Lorch or stick with him after sentencing.
WHAT'S NEXT: The sentencing proceedings for Lorch's case are scheduled for 28 July 2023.