Child sex kingpin Gerhard Ackerman to be sentenced in August
Sentencing in the case against child sex abuse ring mastermind Gerhard Ackerman will be handed down in August.
Pre-sentencing proceedings were held in the High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Ackerman was found guilty on a myriad of charges related to the sexual exploitation of young boys at his so-called massage parlour.
He was found guilty of over 700 counts relating to the charges, including rape, sexual grooming, rape, and human trafficking of minors.
Ackerman shook his head continually through proceedings, even interjecting at one point, much to the ire of Judge Mohamed Ismail.
“I don’t want to hear from you. Whatever you want to say, speak through your council,” Ismail warned Ackerman.
During the state’s aggravation of sentence argument, the court heard that Ackerman has all the hallmarks of paedophilic disorder.
This was revealed by Colonel Kirsten Clark, who did not assess Ackerman but made the diagnosis based on legal records, including the conviction and evidence before the court.
READ: Gerhard Ackerman convicted of rape, sexual exploitation
The state argued the prospects of rehabilitation were very slim.
The 52-year-old was convicted of grooming and handing over young boys to over 100 men on his client database for sexual abuse.
In April, he was also convicted on three counts of attempted murder related to him knowingly availing young boys for sexual abuse by deceased lawyer Paul Kennedy, who was HIV positive.
ALSO READ: Paul Kennedy ‘played vital role’ in Ackerman's sex ring
The youngest of Ackerman and Kennedy’s victims was just 14 years old.
Judge Ismail recalled that, when he took the stand during the trial, Ackerman seemed to believe the minors consented to being sexually abused by his adult clients.
On Tuesday, Ackerman protested being found guilty of attempted murder: “You are talking about SJ’s HIV status; he never went to PK, so how could this find me guilty?”
WATCH: #GerhardAckerman was warned by the judge Mohammed Ismail to refrain from interjecting while the prosecutor was speaking.Ackerman called for his lawyer to object to the state’s statement on the attempted murder charge against him
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) July 18, 2023
after some victims were diagnosed with HIV pic.twitter.com/OPMgSr6xxx
After being reminded by the judge that he would remain in custody until his next appearance on 14 August – a bald Ackerman, who did a poor job of hiding his discontent behind the blue surgical mask he wore, packed up his red notebook and shuffled back to the cells with leg irons around his ankles.
He faces charges of molesting an 11-year-old boy in a separate matter in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court.
