Ackerman maintaining innocence ‘disturbing’ – rights group
Chairperson of National Children and Violence Trust Thoko Mkhwanazi-Xaluva described Gerhard Ackerman’s demeanor and utterances in court as “disturbing”, after he denied any wrongdoing.
Judgment in the sex ring trial against Ackerman, who is accused of grooming young boys for sexual exploitation, was postponed in the High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
He faces over 700 counts of several charges ranging from rape, sex trafficking, and the production and distribution of child pornography.
Ackerman pleaded not guilty to all the charges against him and maintained his innocence, even on Wednesday.
“I’ve never been malicious; I’ve never harmed anyone, and I have never done anything wrong to anybody,” he told reports from the dock.
Mkhwanazi-Xaluva says Ackerman fails to appreciate the trauma he’s alleged to have caused his victims.
“If he still maintains after everything that the children knew what they were getting themselves into and that he didn’t do anything wrong – in short, they deserved whatever he did to them – the level of arrogance and not appreciating the hurt and trauma he’s put these children through is just unbelievable.”
She says they hope for nothing less than a guilty verdict.
“We are hoping is that the children will feel what they went through, in terms of the court case because that on its own is difficult, they’ll feel it was worth it through a guilty verdict.
Meanwhile, Ackerman says he plans to approach another court should the High Court find him guilty.
Judgment was postponed to 24 April due to the presiding judge being unwell.
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