A man from Jeffreys Bay appeared in the Eastern Cape High Court on sex charges against children.
Google© Streetview, Google Maps, taken 2022
- An Eastern Cape father and stepson face more than 700 charges of sexual offences allegedly committed against three family members who are minors.
- The charges range from rape and sexual assault to bestiality and the possession of child pornography.
- The father appeared alone in the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha on Wednesday and the matter was postponed because his co-accused was in hospital.
A Jeffreys Bay father facing more than 700 charges, including incest, sexual assault and the possession of child pornography, made his first appearance in the Eastern Cape High Court in Gqeberha for his pre-trial conference to commence on Wednesday.
The 55-year-old’s co-accused is his 20-year-old stepson.
The two men, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the victims, face additional charges ranging from rape to the procurement of and distribution of child pornography as well as the sexual grooming of children, and bestiality.
The father allegedly raped one of his three children, his eldest daughter, while his stepson allegedly raped all three of his half-siblings, including a little boy.
Hundreds of pictures and a few videos depicting child pornography were allegedly also found on several of the father’s electronic devices.
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During Wednesday’s appearance, the matter was postponed when the stepson could not attend court due to an illness.
Their lawyer, Alwyn Griebenow, told the court that the stepson was in hospital.
Judge Louis Claassen postponed the pre-trial conference to 3 November.
According to the indictment, the minor victims lived in a house together with their parents and stepbrother.
When the eldest daughter was 10 years old, her father, who normally watched pornography in the same room as his minor children, introduced the victim to pornography.
The alleged sexual acts started when she was 11 years old in 2015 and carried on until the men were arrested in September 2022.
The indictment states that the father allegedly also coerced his son to download pornographic images from the internet and sell them to “clients”.
The boy was only 10 years old when this happened.
Furthermore, the indictment said when the stepson allegedly sexually assaulted his half-siblings, it was recorded by their father for distribution to his “clients”.
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The two are also accused of benefitting financially from selling child pornographic material.
The stepson is also accused of raping a man and a mentally-challenged woman.
According to the indictment, the father performed acts of bestiality on a dog.
The eldest daughter eventually reported the incidents to her aunt, who informed the police.
Following the arrest of the two accused, the mother of the minor victims was also arrested for failing to report the incidents.
She allegedly also warned her longtime partner that the police would be investigating him for potential sexual offences.
Initially charged with the contravention of the obligation to report the commission of sexual offences against children and defeating the ends of justice, the mother secured a plea deal with the state in June this year.
In her plea deal, she explained that her partner had always been addicted to pornography and said she too was a victim of sexual abuse when she was a child, but her family failed to help her.
She pleaded guilty to both charges and received a three-year sentence suspended for five years for each charge.
The minor children, now aged 17, 14 and 12, are currently in a foster home.
Both accused remain behind bars.