KRGV.com

JOHANNESBURG (AP) Investigators on two continents are at last probing accusations a Hall of Fame tennis player was a serial pedophile, three decades after the alleged rapes.

But an advocate for child abuse victims in South Africa, one of the places where tennis star Bob Hewitt is accused of preying on young girls he coached, says the sporting world has yet to face the challenge of protecting children.

Luke Lamprecht, spokesman for the South African group Woman and Men Against Child Abuse, says athletes, their parents and coaches must recognize that pedophiles seek opportunities in sports, just as they do in churches and schools.

Lamprecht said in an interview this week that sports officials "have a special responsibility in the same respect that the Catholic Church does."