Bob Hewitt hands himself in, begins serving sentence

Hewitt will begin serving a six-year sentence for the rape and sexual assault of three teenage girls who had been his tennis students in the 1980s and 90s.

The Constitutional Court denied the 76-year-old leave to appeal the length of his prison term over a week ago.

Miranda Friedmann, from the Women and Men Against Child Abuse, who was at the prison when Hewitt handed himself in says justice has been served.

"Today is the end of a very, very long journey and it really is a victory. It's a victory for adult survivors of child sexual abuse and child rape," she said.

She says sexual offences against children change their lives forever.

"We know something incredibly important with child sexual abuse and that is it takes away a child's childhood but what it also does and we must remember is it takes a child's adulthood. It takes a potential of who they were going to be because who they are after a sexual assault is a different person," she said.

In June, Hewitt lost his leave to appeal his six-year sentence.