Africa-Press – South-Africa. Child sex abuse ring kingpin Gerhard Ackerman needs to be imprisoned for the longest period possible to ensure that no other child falls victim to the convicted rapist, paedophile and human trafficker.
These were the sentiments of the State prosecutor, advocate Valencia Dube, who, during sentencing proceedings, asked Judge Ismail Mohamed to impose the maximum sentences possible.
Appearing in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Ackerman constantly shook his head and uttered remarks under his breath as the State made arguments in aggravation of sentence.
The State started with the testimony of a clinical psychologist, Colonel Kirsten Clark, who diagnosed Ackerman with a paedophilic disorder and explained it was unlikely that he would ever be rehabilitated.
With Clark’s evidence undisputed, Dube then moved on to the charges Ackerman was convicted of in April.
Protect society
Dube asked the court that Ackerman be sentenced to the maximum period possible for each charge, including life sentences for the trafficking and rape of the minor victims.
Dube told the court there were no compelling and substantial circumstances that Ackerman could raise to deviate from the minimum prescribed sentence of life imprisonment for child rape.
“Society needs to be protected from a person like Ackerman,” Dube said.
“The court must ensure that no other child is ever subjected to the type of abuse and degrading actions by the accused.”
The State also asked the court to impose the maximum sentences allowed for Ackerman’s other crimes, which include:
No mitigation
Ackerman’s legal aid attorney, Herman Alberts, placed Ackerman’s personal circumstances on record, as he argued in mitigation of sentence.
However, before going into his argument, Alberts conceded that Ackerman could not get a slap on the wrist.
As for personal circumstances, the court heard that Ackerman was 53 years old and a first-time offender.
He allegedly grew up in a stable household, and his parents remained married until his father’s death in 2019.
Ackerman has a younger sister and an older brother, both of whom live outside the country.
It was submitted that Ackerman’s mother was dependent on him – and that he had acted as “driver and bodyguard” for his mother while out on bail, because she was scared.
Alberts said there was no history of abuse or behavioural problems.
The court heard that Ackerman had future plans to start a brownie manufacturing franchise, which would involve direct marketing and employing people as agents to sell the brownies to shops.
Ismail asked Alberts if there were any compelling and substantial circumstances, and also asked about the issue of remorse.
Alberts was unable to answer because Ackerman maintained that he did nothing wrong.
“The accused labours under the belief that these victims exercise free will and they made a choice, and he was doing them a favour,” Ismail said.
“He makes himself seem like he was performing some service to the community.”
However, Ismail pointed out that Ackerman manipulated vulnerable children from broken homes and exploited them.
Crimes
In April, Ackerman was found guilty of more than 700 charges.
This was in relation to the child sex abuse ring he ran in Johannesburg, which fronted as a massage parlour.
The court found that Ackerman had trafficked young teenage boys, sexually groomed them, and then coerced them into performing sexual acts on clients in exchange for money.
One of his clients, who also actively helped Ackerman in the ring, was Paul Kennedy, a well-known senior advocate and an acting high court judge.
Kennedy, who was arrested alongside Ackerman, died by suicide before the trial started.
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