The case against Gerhard Ackerman continued in the JHB High Court on Tuesday, 28 February. State prosecutor Dube continued cross-examining the accused based on the electronic evidence retrieved from the accused’s cellphone and laptop.
WhatsApp text messages and voice notes between Ackerman and his clients (Paul Kennedy included) reveal how Ackerman would sell young boys off to adult males. He would charge R1200 for one boy, and R2000 for the services of two boys. The children were expected to perform many varied sexual acts starting off with erotic massages. All victims testified that they did not consent to sexual intercourse with anyone and were therefore forced.
Ackerman owned a massage parlour roughly 1km from the Sandton Police Station which is where these ‘massages’ would take place. On other occasions, Ackerman would transport the requested child to the residence of the client(s) for their pleasure.
Communication between Ackerman and deceased advocate Kennedy (who is also the only known client) shows how the two grown men took pleasure in what they were doing by exchanging pornographic photos and videos of the boys, discussing their bodies and performance, and boasting about past experiences with them.
More damning evidence was found on Ackerman’s laptop which includes over 300 downloaded pornographic images featuring babies as little as 0 to 6 years old.
In his defense, Ackerman shamelessly claims that all he wanted to do is help these boys by teaching them how to give massages thus enabling them to make money and earn a living. “I did not exploit them, I helped them” he said. He also said he approved massages with ‘happy endings’ but didn’t approve that the boys be used for sexual intercourse.
For further comment, please contact:
Luke Lamprecht: 065 168 2971
Miranda Jordan: 083 250 6821