Gerhard Ackerman, who faces hundreds of charges related to a child sexual exploitation ring, seen before his court appearance.
PHOTO: Alex Mitchley/Noticias24
- Gerhard Ackerman, the man accused of running a child sexual exploitation ring, has been arrested again.
- This after he missed his trial on Thursday, citing health problems, but then disappeared on Friday.
- Police arrested Ackerman in Florida, Roodepoort.
Alleged child sex ring kingpin Gerhard Ackerman has been arrested again after he violated his bail conditions and went missing on Friday.
Less than 64 hours after Ackerman allegedly sold his personal property and vacated the premises in which he lived, he was arrested at the Florida Junction mall on Sunday morning.
News24 can confirm that residents saw and recognized him and immediately called the police.
He is currently being held at the Florida police station and will appear in Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday.
On Thursday, he was due to appear in court for the continuation of his trial.
The court was set to hear evidence related to the WhatsApp messages and voice notes Ackerman allegedly sent to clients, including lead counsel and acting judge Paul Kennedy, who has since taken his own life.
These messages allegedly included descriptions of the child victims and the sexual services rendered, according to the indictment.
READ | Arrest warrant issued for the alleged kingpin of the child sex ring, who sold his belongings and evacuated the house
However, Ackerman was not present when the proceedings began, and his public defender, Herman Alberts, told the court that his client had allegedly fallen ill.
Alberts said he received a message from Ackerman that he had food poisoning and had not slept as a result.
The case was later adjourned until Monday, but Ackerman was due to submit a medical certificate on Friday.
National Revenue Authority spokesman Phindi Mjonondwane said that after Ackerman failed to comply with the court order, the investigation team consisting of Captain Banks and Petty Officer Pelser acted quickly and visited his place of residence after realizing that that the defendant could not be located.
“Upon arrival, they discovered that the defendant had moved and sold all his personal property,” Mjonondwane added.
Gerhard Ackerman (supplied)
Police spent all of Friday trying to locate Ackerman, but to no avail.
On Saturday morning, the State went to court for an arrest warrant, which was authorized.
Crime
Ackerman, also known as “Gerrie”, is accused of running the child sexual exploitation ring in Johannesburg between 2019 and 2021.
According to the indictment, he allegedly searched for teenagers on Facebook and other social networking sites.
Ackerman allegedly solicited pornographic videos and images from the child victims and sold them to clients.
READ | 740 counts, fear of testifying in court: Alleged child sex ringlord’s first week on trial
He has also been accused of grooming victims, trafficking them, and teaching them how to perform sexual services, before selling said services to a list of “clients.”
Several of the charges state that Ackerman allegedly received money for services rendered by the teens.
On Monday, Ackerman pleaded not guilty to 740 charges.
Some of the charges state that the crimes allegedly took place at Kennedy’s home, while others allegedly took place at a place rented by Ackerman, posing as a massage parlor, where teenagers were allegedly sexually exploited.
