Gerhard Ackerman Biography
Gerhard Ackerman is allegedly responsible for several heinous crimes that spanned more than ten years, including raping a kid and exposing himself to children in public facilities. He is also charged with setting up a child sex ring in Johannesburg.
Gerhard Ackerman, a 52-year-old male, appeared before the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday. He finished there by offering his defense against the 740 charges leveled against him.
After the defendant was finished pleading, Herman Alberts, Ackerman’s legal assistance counsel, said that his client would not be offering a plea explanation.
Gerhard Ackerman complained to News24 about the publication of his name and picture in connection with the matter before the trial started on Tuesday. If Ackerman was found guilty of the crime, he felt that the story should only be covered by the media.
Gerhard Ackerman Charges Breakdown.
The majority of the charges against him include a child sex ring that he is said to have run between 2019 and 2021 with the assistance of Paul Kennedy, a senior attorney and acting judge who died by suicide before the trial started. On the other side, the indictment claims that Ackerman’s alleged spree of illicit activities started in 2007.
The alleged event occurred in December 2007 at or near the ATKV Hartenbos campground in the Western Cape, according to the indictment. Ackerman allegedly exposed himself to a child who was nine years old as well as his younger sibling, who was seven. It is reported that he again exposed himself to the brothers after a two-year break.
Then, Ackerman is said to have masturbated while filming the July 2018 incident at a swimming school in Sunninghill, where he allegedly exposed himself to an 11-year-old child.
After being talked to by staff at the swimming school, Ackerman is thought to have left in a car, causing damage to the boom gate that protects the entrance.
Gerhard Ackerman is also charged with forcing an 11-year-old boy to touch his genitalia in a Johannesburg country club’s public restroom during the same time period as this trial. This accusation has nothing to do with the ongoing investigation.
When we discovered the kid at the country club, he was playing a game of hockey.
In the case that is being handled in the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court, where he is also on trial at the moment, Ackerman is currently accused of four counts of sexual assault.
Ackerman is accused of starting to conduct crimes connected to the sex ring while he was free on bail in the sexual assault case. The accusations related to the incident that happened in the pool had already been dismissed at the time.
Gerhard Ackerman ‘Clients’ list
The indictment paints a picture of a child sex ring where Ackerman is said to have recruited young boys, trafficked them, groomed them sexually, and then sold them to a list of “clients” for the purpose of giving sexual services.
According to the accusation, he looked up the kids on Facebook and other social media platforms.
The accusations state that Ackerman would request sexually explicit pictures and videos from the children and would occasionally pay the juveniles for the information. According to the allegations, he would give these to his clients, who would include Kennedy.
Ackerman is also charged with trafficking the kids and arranging for their transportation to Johannesburg, where he is charged with grooming the kids to engage in sex with and give massages to his clients. Ackerman is also charged with recruiting minors to sell narcotics.
In one of the incidents, it’s thought that Kennedy paid for one of the kids to use an Uber, and in another, it’s said that Kennedy bought a bus ticket for the kid who was the claimed victim.
The indictment claims that “the accused, the late accused 2, Paul Kennedy, and/or other clients would engage in filthy sexual acts with the minors.” “The children were unaware of the seriousness of these behaviors.”
Ackerman is also accused of taking part, and in some cases all, of the money from clients who paid for the sex services provided by the underage victims.
Gerhard Ackerman child exploitation
According to the accusations brought against him, Ackerman was found to be in possession of hundreds of films and images, including child pornography, when he was apprehended in July 2021.
In addition to the 253 recordings that were allegedly found on a mobile phone that he owned, the indictment claims that a total of 386 images and videos were also found on a laptop that was in his possession.
Unidentified children who appear to be younger than 18 are reportedly shown in the photos appearing nude or half naked while participating in sexual activities. The minors appear to be younger than 18 years old.
Kennedy’s possession is also said to have contained child pornography, according to the allegations.
Additionally, Ackerman is under investigation for allegedly creating and disseminating child porn.
Both Ackerman and Kennedy were taken into custody and charged with crimes that are said to have happened between 2019 and 2021.
Kennedy was charged with rape, sexual assault, human trafficking, and compelled rape in the first indictment after it was alleged that he had one of the teenagers have sex with an unidentified individual while he watched. He was also accused of trafficking in people.
Kennedy committed suicide at his Johannesburg home in February of the previous year, just one week before he was supposed to appear before the High Court, according to News24.
The court had mandated that both of the accused people have HIV tests after the findings of one of the alleged victims’ test results from a week earlier.
The charges against Kennedy were dropped after his death, and the indictment was revised to account for the new details.
Gerhard Ackerman, on the other hand, will need to defend himself in court against the charges that Kennedy allegedly committed, according to the indictment that was sent to him on Monday.
The idea of “common purpose” in the law says that two accused people can be held responsible for each other’s actions if they are in line with the goals they both had at the time they committed the crimes.
Kennedy is accused of committing the crimes, and Ackerman has been prosecuted because authorities think that by setting up a meeting and introducing the youngsters to Kennedy, he unlawfully and willfully encouraged Kennedy to conduct the crimes. The state has thus chosen to charge Ackerman with Kennedy’s alleged offenses.