Pretoria - The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and others have welcomed the multiple life sentences handed down to a Pretoria North family convicted of running a porn sex ring, which involved theirs as well as two foster children.
The Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court sentenced the 70 and 69-year-old foster parents to 12 life terms, including 95 years’ imprisonment, for their role in a sex ring, which involved the rape, sexual grooming of children and distribution of child pornography, dating back to between 2005 to 2010.
Their son and his wife, aged 49 and 39, were given a 5-year wholly suspended sentence and three years of correctional supervision.
Magistrate Pieter Nel ordered that the sentences run concurrently; that their names be added to the national register for sexual offenders, and they be declared unfit to possess a firearm.
In 2022, the group were collectively convicted of 20 counts of rape, indecent assault, compelled rape, compelled sexual assault, witnessing sexual acts, sexual grooming, as well as child abuse and neglect of the minor children, aged 4 and 9 years.
National Prosecuting Authority regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the gruesome discovery was made after a 6-year-old foster child was taken for school readiness assessment, where she disclosed to the educational psychologist that she was being sexually assaulted by her foster parents.
After receiving this information, Mahanjana said, the psychologist reported the matter to police, whose investigations found that the six accused were sexually assaulting their two foster children and their four biological children.
The six consisted of the grandfather and grandmother, their two sons and their wives, as well as a mentally disabled son. They were arrested in December 2010 at their residences at Hammanskraal and Bultfontein, and the children were taken to a place of safety.
Initially, more people were arrested. However, two family members were acquitted, and one was jailed for nine years in 2015, while the six remaining family members were charged with 53 counts of rape, sexual grooming of children, indecent assault, incest, as well as possession, manufacturing and distribution of child pornography, which were later reduced.
All six pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and denied ever sexually assaulting the children.
However, the State provided evidence to prove that the six had indeed sexually assaulted the children.
The children told the court, via victim impact statements, that they had been affected and were still affected by the abuse and now found it hard to trust people and maintain relations. They told the court that they still suffered from the trauma caused by the family.
State prosecutors, advocates Cornelia Harmzen and Marie Jonker argued that the six showed no remorse for their actions, as they had subjected their own children to the scrutiny of the court, where they had to testify using intermediary services and had to relive their trauma.
Moreover, the accused were the parents to the children and in a position of trust, which they had betrayed and failed to protect the children.
In handing down the multiple sentences, Nel said the six committed serious offences against their children over a long period of time, and such crimes would surely leave a long impact on the victims.
“The NPA welcomes the sentence in this gruesome case involving minor children in the hope that it will send a strong message that such crimes will not be tolerated. The NPA remains committed to prosecute crimes of sexual offences, especially against children.”
Luke Lamprecht, head of advocacy at Women & Men Against Child Abuse, which has been advocating for the harshest penalty to be meted out, said the sentencing of the family, which had been in the making for 12 years, was welcomed. In applauding the court for the hefty sentence, Lamprecht said the group was very happy with the outcome save for a few concerns.
He said despite the sentences, the organisation’s only concerns pertained to the sentencing of the son and wife who were accused number 3 and 4.
“It’s been proven that they knew about the abuse but did not report it. How, then, can the current relationship with their children be a mitigating factor when they observed abuse but neglected their duty to protect?
“Second, the children are now doing well despite the abuse, and they should be commended for their bravery.
“But it is not because the abuse did them no harm.
“We should not raise children who have to survive and overcome their childhoods,” he said.
Pretoria News