The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has found sex ring kingpin Gerhard Ackerman guilty of more than 700 charges including rape, attempted kidnapping, sexual exploitation, sexual grooming, and possession of child pornography.
Child sex abuse trial
Ackerman’s trial started in January, which saw him taking nearly two days to plead not guilty to 740 charges.
Despite maintaining his innocence on 19 April, saying he did nothing wrong because the young boys “knew what they were doing”, Johannesburg High Court Judge Ismail Mahomed said Ackerman exploited children and targeted their vulnerability with a number of the boys coming from disadvantaged homes.
Ackerman was acquitted of at least seven charges and found guilty on more than 700.
The trial ran on and off for three months, where prosecutor, Advocate Valencia Dube, led the evidence of more than a dozen witnesses and presented hard evidence in the form of WhatsApp conversations from Ackerman, as well as forensic reports on the child pornography found on his cellphone and laptop.
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