JJ Schoeman

#sapsFS [MAN SENTENCED TO THREE TERMS OF LIFE IMPRISONMENT AND 653 YEARS IMPRISONMENT FOR 119 COUNTS OF SEXUAL OFFENCES AGAINST CHILDREN] A 37-year-old man was sentenced in the Welkom Regional Court, sitting as a designated Sexual Offences Court, on 2 November 2026 after pleading guilty to 119 charges relating to sexual offences committed against three minor victims between 2015 and 2024. The accused was convicted and sentenced by Magistrate Mrs Lafenya on Odendaalsrus case and two other cases from Welkom. The accused pleaded guilty to charges including sexual grooming of children, sexual assault, rape of a minor, sexual exploitation of children, compelled self-sexual assault, exposure of a child to pornography, creation, possession and distribution of child pornography, child abuse, trafficking in persons, kidnapping of a minor, attempted murder, and defeating the administration of justice. The investigation, led by Warrant Officer Jessica Saayman of Welkom Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, revealed that the accused gained access to his victims through positions of trust. He groomed the first victim between 2015 and 2020 when she was between 12 and 17 years old and groomed a second victim between 2022 and 2024 when she was between 11 and 14 years old. He sexually assaulted and raped the victims on a regular basis, sexually exploited them, and used them to create child pornography which he sold and distributed to a pornographic website. When the offences were discovered, the accused trafficked and kidnapped the second child, attempted to kill the child and himself, and damaged devices and destroyed evidence in an attempt to defeat the administration of justice. He further manipulated the second victim to create child pornography involving a third minor victim without the third child's knowledge. The accused was sentenced as follows, amongst others: ● Count 3, 14, and 17: Life imprisonment each for rape of a minor and trafficking in persons ● Sexual grooming, sexual assault, exposure to pornography, creation and possession of child pornography: 5 years imprisonment per count ● Sexual exploitation and distribution of child pornography: 10 years imprisonment per count ● Attempted murder: 15 years imprisonment ● Defeating the administration of justice: 3 years imprisonment ● Kidnapping: 5 years imprisonment The sentences were ordered to run concurrently with the sentences of life imprisonment, amounting to a total of 653 years imprisonment in addition to three terms of life imprisonment. The Provincial Commissioner of the Free State, Lieutenant General Thabang Solomon Lesia, welcomed the sentence and commended Warrant Officer Jessica Saayman, Prosecutor Elma Van Niekerk, CPO Rosie Dube and all role players for ensuring that justice was served and that a dangerous predator is removed from society. #Sentencing #EndGBVF ML saps.gov.za/newsroom/ms.php?…