South Africa:
MAN ACCUSED OF RUNNING SEX RING WITH PAUL KENNEDY TO CONTINUE PLEA IN COURT
Human rights lawyer Kennedy’s co-accused, Gerhard Ackerman, faces over 700 counts of charges ranging from human trafficking, to the production and distribution of child pornography, and rape.
The Johannesburg High Court on Monday heard how one of the counsel in the State Capture Commission of Inquiry allegedly paid to watch the sexual exploitation of teenage boys to fulfil his lewd fantasies.
Renowned human rights lawyer and acting judge Paul Kennedy was one of two accused in the case of a sex ring.
While he was leading evidence at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry, he was also being investigated for crimes including rape and the exploitation of minor boys for the production and consumption of live child sexual abuse material.
It is alleged several boys between the ages of 14 and 16 were paid to give massages to men, which often led to their rape and sexual assault.
Kennedy died by suicide while he was out on bail last year.
But his co-accused, 52-year-old Gerhard Ackerman, faces over 700 counts of charges ranging from human trafficking, to the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material, and rape.
The State believes Kennedy used Ackerman as a middleman to lure the boys in. He would allegedly pay the boys through Ackerman, who was accused of having made a living from the exploitation.
State prosecutor advocate Valencia Dube told the court on Monday how Ackerman allegedly took a cut from the fees Kennedy and others paid, sometimes pocketing all the money.
Not only is he accused of ferrying some of the boys by cab and train in 2020 and linking them with adult men including Kennedy, but he is also accused of actively participating in the rape of boys.
Judge Mohamed Ismail ended proceedings before Ackerman could finish pleading.
After standing in the dock for about two hours, pleading to about 700 counts, Ackerman will continue with his plea on Tuesday morning.
