3 years ago
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- In April, Gerhard Ackerman was convicted of more than 700 charges of possession of child pornography, rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming linked to a child sex abuse ring he ran.
- In a separate matter, Ackerman is also on trial for the sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy in 2018.
- The trial was postponed on Wednesday due to the court being impacted by load shedding.
The sexual assault trial against Gerhard Ackerman, who was recently convicted for running a child sex abuse ring, has been postponed because of load shedding.
Ackerman briefly appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court on Wednesday, where the investigating officer was meant to testify in a sexual assault case dating back to 2018.
However, due to the rolling blackouts impacting the court building, the matter had to be postponed to 24 May.
News24 previously reported that before Ackerman was arrested in the sex abuse ring case, he was arrested and charged with four counts of sexual assault.
It is alleged that Ackerman sexually assaulted an 11-year-old boy, in a public bathroom in an upmarket country club in Johannesburg in August 2018.
The boy was at the country club to play a hockey match against a rival school.
READ | Child sex abuse ring: Gerhard Ackerman found guilty of child porn charges, sex trafficking, grooming
The victim's mother, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of her son, told News24 her son had started the hockey game but was substituted just before halftime.
Sitting on the side of the field, he decided to go to the bathroom to relieve himself.
There, he was allegedly met by a man who had his arm in a sling.
"He went into the urinals and was approached and blockaded [by the accused]," the mother said.
"[The accused] had his arm in a sling and told [the victim] that he needed help with his pants because he only had one available hand."
The accused then allegedly forced the victim to touch his penis four times before the victim managed to get away.
Ackerman pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Ackerman was arrested on 24 August 2018 and released on R5 000 bail three days later.
While out on bail, Ackerman was arrested again along with well-known senior advocate and acting High Court judge Paul Kennedy.
While Kennedy died by suicide before the trial started, Ackerman was found guilty of more than 700 charges in April, including possession of child pornography, human trafficking, rape, sexual grooming of children, attempted murder, sexual assault and sexual exploitation of children.
These charges were all linked to the child sex abuse ring that he masterminded in Johannesburg, which ran under the guise of being a massage parlour.
Ackerman was also found guilty of exposing and touching himself in front of minor children in public bathrooms on three separate occasions.
He is due to be sentenced in July.
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