Gerhard Ackerman judgment postponed to Monday
Judgment in the case against the man facing several charges related to an alleged sex ring involving young boys, and older men as his clients, has been postponed to Monday.
Judge Ismail Mahomed explained that he is unwell and unable to deliver what’s expected to be a lengthy judgment in the case against alleged paedophile Gerhard Ackerman.
Ackerman has been charged with several counts of rape, child trafficking, and the production and distribution of child pornography among others.
The 52-year-old pleaded not guilty to the multitude of charges against him, despite being found in the possession of hundreds of images and videos depicting sexual acts on minors.
He also admitted to running a massage parlour where teenage boys were expected to engage in sexual acts with adult men in what the accused previously described as “happy endings”.
Sitting in the dock with his legs chained while he paged through a notepad, the accused smirked at news cameras while saying: “Go ahead, it’s not like I can stop you.”
ALSO READ: Sex ring 'kingpin' Ackerman back behind bars
Visibly irritated, a soft-spoken Ackerman abrasively folded his arms across his chest before telling reporters that he believes he did nothing wrong.
“What did I do wrong? Tell me. You can’t tell me.”
Asked if he saw no fault in allegations, he handed over young boys to now deceased lawyer Paul Kennedy, despite knowing he was HIV positive, Ackerman simply replied that the boys knew what they were getting into.
“They knew he was HIV positive. They knew what they were getting into. They were fine with it; they didn’t go to have sex with him. They went to massage him, and I told them not to do anything sexual, he is HIV positive.”
WATCH: Ackerman tells reporters that he warned the boys he’s accused of handing over to deceased human rights lawyer Paul Kennedy against “having sex” with him because he knew Kennedy was HIV positive. He says “they knew…they were fine with it” #GerhardAckerman pic.twitter.com/InNIq9rzvJ
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) April 19, 2023
Kennedy, who was one of Ackerman’s most high-profile clients, was arrested with him in 2021. He died by suicide while out on bail.
In January, Ackerman was rearrested after he failed to appear in court while out on R6 000 bail.
