Orlando Pirates star Thembinkosi Lorch will carry a criminal record that will have grim consequences if he doesn't pursue the option of an appeal at the High Court following his conviction at the Randburg Magistrate's Court.
Lorch was on November 21 sentenced to three years in prison (suspended for five years on condition that he is not found guilty of a similar offence during that time) for assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to his ex-girlfriend Fundiswa Mathithibela.
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Part of the sentence was a R100 000 fine to a non-governmental organisation named People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) with half the amount payable on the same day.
Lorch's case dates to September 2020 when he was arrested in Midrand and released on R2 000 bail.
The 30-year-old has since been subsequently suspended from club duties until December 12 throwing his hopes of returning to Bafana Bafana squad down the drain as the countdown to the AFCON finals gathers momentum.
The club is also conducting its own internal processes.
Beyond this there is the issue of a criminal record which comes with convictions recorded against an individual.
This record serves as a valuable tool for assessing an individual's past involvement in criminal activities and is often requested for migration purposes and travel visas or by employers, regulatory bodies, and government agencies.
Pending appeal avenues available for Lorch at the High Court this means he will no longer be able to travel to certain countries and cannot pursue any opportunities outside South Africa.
Based on information from the SAPS in collaboration with the South African government websites, Lorch will not be able to meet the options of expungement as his fine exceeded R20 000.
Below are the conditions that Lorch will have to meet to be expunged (procedure which results in the lawful clearance and removal of a criminal record on an individual's record from the National Criminal Register).
"You can apply for expungement of your criminal record in terms of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, to the Director-General: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Expungement of a criminal record is a process by which a criminal record of a convicted offender is removed from the criminal record database of the Criminal Record Centre of the South African Police Service.
This allows you to carry on with life without a criminal record being an obstruction to employment opportunities.
You can apply to have your criminal record expunged when:
. a period of 10 years has passed after the date of the conviction for that offence.
. you have not been convicted and sentenced to a period of imprisonment without the option of a fine during those 10 years.
. the sentence was corporal punishment.
. the sentence was postponed, or you were cautioned and discharged.
. the sentence was a fine not exceeding R20 000.
. the sentence was imprisonment with the option to pay a fine (not more than R20 000) instead of serving the period of imprisonment.
. the sentence of imprisonment was suspended wholly.
. the sentence was correctional supervision in terms of section 276(1)(h) of the Act.
. the sentence was imprisonment in terms of section 276(1)(i) of the Act.
. the sentence was periodical imprisonment in term of section 276(1)(c) of the Act.
. proof is provided that your name has been removed from the National Register of Sex Offenders or the National Child Protection Register, if relevant," reads the article on the government website.