News24.com | 'It's him': Father identifies sex crimes accused Gerhard Ackerman as man who exposed himself to his son

• Gerhard Ackerman is facing 740 charges, including rape, human trafficking and possession of child pornography.
• In a separate trial, he is accused of exposing himself to two minor boys in the Western Cape on two occasions.
• The father of one of the boys has identified Ackerman as the man who exposed himself to his son while they were on holiday. 

A father has identified alleged child sex ring mastermind Gerhard Ackerman as the man who reportedly exposed himself to his son and nephew on two different occasions. 

Ackerman appeared in the Gauteng High Court on Monday, where evidence was led relating to crimes he is accused of committing between 2007 and 2009. 

News24 previously reported that Ackerman allegedly exposed himself to two minor boys in a bathroom at a Hartenbos camping site in the Western Cape in 2007. 

He allegedly exposed himself to the same two boys two years later in 2009.

The father, who cannot be named to protect the identities of his minor son and nephew, testified about his interactions with Ackerman at the camping site.

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He said that while on holiday at the camping site in 2007, his son and nephew returned from the bathroom one evening, complaining that there was a naked man with an erect penis walking around. 

Even though he was shocked, the father only realised the seriousness of the incident after relaying the story to his wife a short while later.  

However, he told the boys that they should let him know if they saw the man again. 

Two days later, one of the boys identified the man sitting on a bench at the ablution facilities.

The father followed the man between two ablution blocks and then to a blue BMW, where the man changed his shirt and got a swimming towel. 

He confronted the man and warned him that if he saw him again he would call the police and beat him up. 

The father identified this man as Ackerman, who was sitting in the dock. 

“It’s him, without a doubt.”

READ | Young victim petrified alleged molester Gerhard Ackerman would find him after evading trial

Two years later, while on holiday at the same camping site, the same two boys alerted the father to Ackerman’s alleged presence again. 

This time the father ran straight to the bathroom and said he saw Ackerman naked, walking into a bath cubicle. 

Once Ackerman left, the father followed him while his wife called the police. 

Ackerman was arrested and charged. 

During cross-examination, the father remained resolute that it was Ackerman he had seen in 2007 and again in 2009. 

Ackerman claims that he was not at the camping site in 2007 and that, in 2009, it was a case of mistaken identity on the part of the father and two boys. 

Earlier, the court heard testimony by one of the boys, which was held in camera. 

Meanwhile, Ackerman is also on trial in a separate case, where he has pleaded not guilty to 740 charges, including rape, unlawful possession of child pornography, human trafficking, sexual assault and sexual grooming of a minor. 

Most of the charges relate to a child sex ring he allegedly ran in Johannesburg. 

It’s alleged that his clients included senior advocate and acting Judge Paul Kennedy. 

Kennedy, who was arrested and charged alongside Ackerman, died by suicide before that trial started.