Johannesburg - The golden thread of alleged sex ring mastermind Gerhard Ackerman’s defence largely boils down to the notion of consent as well as norms in the gay community.
This is according to children’s rights organisation Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), as the state concluded its cross-examination on Thursday and the trial against Ackerman was postponed to Tuesday, March 7, for closing arguments.
Ackerman faces over 700 charges ranging from rape, attempted murder, distribution of child porn, and human trafficking of minor children for sexual exploitation.
The organisation believes that his defence relies on the fact that persons 16 and older are considered to be of legal consenting age, which was used to convince the court that he didn’t do anything wrong, as most of the boys trapped in his sex ring were 16 and over.
"The accused also claims that all his victims are gay and that erotic messages at a parlour like the one he owned are a norm in the gay world.
"But, the evidence and some of the witness testimonies suggest that some of them were still coming to terms with their sexuality at the time, and that they knew about the expectation to give ‘happy endings’ but were never told of the hardcore sexual acts also expected of them," said the non-profit organisation (NPO) in a statement.
The organisation further heard how Ackerman admitted to the production of child pornography.
"Ackerman today admitted to making suggestions on what to do or not do during the making of this content. We also heard that Ackerman received a 20% cut of all monies earned by the boys. This income would in part pay his R32 000 monthly rent for a house in Sandton, where he stayed for one year.
"The accused was also questioned about the alleged incident that happened at a swimming school in Sunninghill back in 2018, where he was seen parading naked and aroused in front of children in a public bathroom. He admitted to being naked but denied that he was aroused or that he filmed himself," added the statement.
On Tuesday, Ackerman, who appeared yesterday in the Johannesburg High Court, said he would charge R1 200 for one boy’s services and R2 000 for two boys’ services.
This was revealed after the state prosecutor in the case, Valencia Dube, cross-examined him based on the electronic evidence retrieved from the accused’s cellphone and laptop.
According to WMACA, WhatsApp text messages and voice notes between Ackerman and his clients reveal how Ackerman would sell young boys off to adult men.
"The children were expected to perform many varied sexual acts, starting off with erotic massages. All victims testified that they did not consent to sexual intercourse with anyone and were therefore forced," said the NPO.
The children’s rights organisation said Ackerman owned a massage parlour, roughly 1km from the Sandton police station, which is where these ‘massages’ would take place.
It was also revealed that Ackerman would transport the requested child to the residence of the client(s) for their pleasure.
"Communication between Ackerman and deceased advocate Kennedy (who is also the only known client) shows how the two grown men took pleasure in what they were doing by exchanging pornographic photos and videos of the boys, discussing their bodies and performance, and boasting about past experiences with them.
"More damning evidence was found on Ackerman’s laptop, which includes over 300 downloaded pornographic images featuring babies as little as 0 to six-years-old," read the organisation’s statement.
Ackerman claims in court that all he wanted to do was help these boys by teaching them how to give massages, allowing them to earn money and a living.
"I did not exploit them; I helped them," he said.
Ackerman also said that he approved massages with "happy endings," but didn’t approve that the boys be used for sexual intercourse.
The Star