The State sought to discredit claims by alleged child sex abuser Gerhard Ackerman that he ran a legitimate massage parlour that employed young boys, through cross-examination on Tuesday.
In his evidence-in-chief in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday, Ackerman revealed that some of his clients received massages with “happy endings”. Happy endings are usually a reference to sexual acts at the end of a massage.
One of the pillars of Ackerman’s defence is that he ran an above-board massage business that employed teenage boys old enough to consent to sex.
On Tuesday, when the State cross-examined him, the prosecution played voice notes and read out WhatsApp conversations between Ackerman and his clients.
In the first voice note, Ackerman can be heard availing two teenage boys for sexual acts in return for payment. He explained to the client that the man would pay R1 200 to make one boy available and that it would cost R2 000 for both boys.
Ackerman also described the boys’ appearance.
In a WhatsApp conversation with another client, the 53-year-old said one of the boys was 16 years old, adding what he would have to pay for time with him.
In response to another client who asked for “fun”, Ackerman described the genitals of one of the boys.
During his evidence-in-chief, Ackerman told the court his “golden rule” was no sex with clients.
However, in a WhatsApp message between a client and Ackerman, read out in court on Tuesday, the client said he was looking for a boy to have sex with. The accused replied: “I have one like that.”
Ackerman went on to ask the man about his preferences.
Age of masseurs
The second pillar of Ackerman’s defence is that the masseurs he employed were at least 16 years old, suggesting that if they had sex of their own volition, they could consent to the act.
The legal age of consent for sexual acts in South Africa is 16.
However, evidence led by the State called this element of Ackerman’s defence into question.
The prosecution presented a WhatsApp conversation between Ackerman and senior advocate Paul Kennedy. In the text messages, Kennedy and Ackerman discussed teenagers while Kennedy was in hospital with Covid-19.
Ackerman sent Kennedy multiple pornographic videos allegedly of minors.
At one point, Kennedy commented on the genitals of a boy who he said was 14 years old.
Ackerman responded with “Yep”.
Kennedy also spoke about loving the sexual acts he performed on the boy.
Ackerman seemingly had no response to prosecutor advocate Valencia Dube’s questions about the evidence which showed that boys were sold for sex and sexual acts.
Kennedy was originally arrested and charged alongside Ackerman. He later took his own life before the trial started.
Ackerman previously admitted that Kennedy helped him recruit boys for his “massage business”. The men allegedly recruited the boys through Facebook and Grindr.
Ackerman is charged with running a child sex abuse ring by allegedly luring young boys for clients who paid him to perform sexual acts with the children. He is facing 738 charges, including rape, child exploitation and human trafficking.
News24
