Father testifies how sex ring ‘kingpin’ lured his son

The Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) has revoked Gerhard Ackerman’s bail and ordered that he be placed in custody under supervision by correctional services. Ackerman is accused of running a child sex ring which allegedly involved senior advocate and Acting Judge Paul Kennedy who committed suicide last year. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, the suspected paedophile sparked concerns that his bail conditions had been arbitrarily amended without the prosecutor and investigating officer knowing. The court held an inquiry after Ackerman failed to show up in court citing ill health. The court heard evidence through witness statements that Ackerman allegedly wanted to buy an illegal gun and commit suicide as he believed that he wouldn’t get a fair trial. Other affidavits allege that he told a witness he wanted to relocate to Cape Town and then flee to Botswana. Ackerman faces 740 counts of crimes ranging from rape and human trafficking to the distribution of child pornography. He will remain in custody until the end of his trial.

The state has called its second witness, a father of one of the alleged child victims, to give testimony. The father testified he and his family lived in the Free State. News24 reports that he said his 16-year-old son, ‘TW’, was lured via Facebook with a promise of work in Johannesburg. The teen, who was not in school at the time, wanted to work for Ackerman. ‘At first, I didn't want him to go, but he begged and pleaded,’ he said. Ackerman then called him and said he was ‘keeping youngsters alive’ by teaching them to massage and that the parlour was legitimate. The father said he had asked whether there was any ‘funny business’ such as ‘sexual stuff’ performed at the parlour which Ackerman denied. He also told the father he only took 10% of what the masseurs made. Less than a week after his son’s arrival in Johannesburg, the father received a telephone call from a detective, who said he was bringing TW back to the Free State and they should meet at a garage. The father recalled how his son kept crying and apologising during the car ride home from the garage. ‘He kept saying "sorry daddy, I fucked up". He was very upset,’ the father said. Most of the father's testimony was not contested by Ackerman, who only sought to refute the testimony about what happened at the massage parlour. Under cross-examination, Ackerman's Legal Aid attorney, Herman Alberts, put it to the witness the bus tickets were not purchased by Ackerman, but rather by Kennedy, who died by suicide before the trial started. While not canvassed in his evidence-in-chief, Alberts also questioned the father about a video sent to Kennedy by TW. The father said he found out about the video and images his son sent to Kennedy after he returned from Johannesburg. Ackerman alleged it was a strip video made with the help of the father. ‘I had no involvement, I have no idea about that,’ the father responded.

A 15-year-old boy was petrified his alleged molester would come looking for him at school after it emerged that Ackerman had reportedly evaded his trial and gone missing. The teenager was 11 when he was allegedly sexually assaulted by Ackerman in a public bathroom at an upmarket country club in Johannesburg in 2018. Ackerman allegedly forced the minor to touch his genitals before he managed to escape. He reported the incident to his parents, who opened a case. Ackerman was arrested and charged. He is currently on trial in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court where he pleaded not guilty to four counts of sexual assault, which is separate to the child sex ring trial he is facing in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg). The victim’s mother told News24 that she was shocked when she found out that Ackerman was missing. While she had originally planned to keep the news from her son, the story went viral, and she realised it was only a matter of time before he found out. She added that he was traumatised and scared that Ackerman might come looking for him. He also said that he didn’t want to go to school on Monday.

The victim's mother also voiced her frustration at Ackerman being released in the first place. ‘I have no idea how he was ever granted bail,’ she said. When Ackerman was arrested and charged for the sexual assault of her son in 2018, he was granted bail of R5 000. News24 reports that he recalled that Ackerman’s release was not opposed in the case involving her son. ‘He was in the dock for maybe 10 minutes and was given bail. It wasn't even contested,’ she said. Then, while out on bail for the sexual assault matter, Ackerman was arrested again alongside Kennedy. While Kennedy was granted bail of R20 000, Ackerman's bail was denied. However, he brought a second application based on new facts and the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court granted him bail of R6 000.