Man accused of sexually assaulting boy, 11, changes his attorney mid-trial

• A 53-year-old man has been accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy in a public bathroom in 2018.
• His trial was postponed on Wednesday after he terminated the mandate of his attorney.
• In another case, he and a well-known advocate face over 700 charges of child pornography, rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.

The trial of a 53-year-old man accused of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy had to be postponed after he terminated the mandate of his attorney.

He briefly appeared in the Alexandra Magistrate's Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday morning, and his attorney informed the court that his mandate for the trial had been terminated.

The attorney explained that the accused had opted to continue with a legal aid attorney because of financial constraints.

The accused's decisions came in the middle of the trial, where the victim has been testifying.

READ | Top advocate's co-accused in child sex ring case previously charged with sexually assaulting boy, 11

The matter has been postponed to Thursday for the accused to secure the representation of a legal aid attorney and for disclosure of the docket contents. 

It is expected that the matter will lead to another postponement for the new attorney to get trial-ready.

Charges 

News24 previously reported that the accused was charged with four counts of sexual assault relating to an incident in 2018.

It is alleged that the man accosted the boy in the toilets at an upmarket country club in Johannesburg.

The boy was at the country club to play a hockey match against a rival school.

After being substituted at half-time, he went to the toilet, where it is alleged that he met the accused.

"He went into the urinals and was approached and blocked [by the accused]," the mother of the victim told News24.

"[The accused] had his arm in a sling and told [the boy] that he needed help with his pants because he only had one available hand."

The accused then allegedly forced the boy to touch his penis four times before the boy got away.

According to the charge sheet, the accused was arrested on 24 August 2018 and released on R5 000 bail three days later.

Child sex ring

The accused was arrested again in 2021, along with a well-known advocate who has acted as a High Court judge, for allegedly committing numerous sexual offences against other minors.

The alleged crimes committed in the human trafficking, child pornography and rape case against the advocate and his co-accused started in September 2020 and ended in July 2021, shortly before their arrests.

According to the indictment, the accused face more than 700 charges, including hundreds of counts relating to child pornography, multiple counts of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking.

The final indictment paints a picture of a well-organised child sex ring that targeted minors, grooming them and then selling them to be raped.

READ MORE | Top advocate, co-accused now face more than 700 charges, including child pornography and human trafficking

The indictment lists four victims aged 15 and 16.

The victims were allegedly targeted through social media and then trafficked to Gauteng, where they were said to have been sexually groomed before being sold to clients.

According to the indictment, the advocate's co-accused also groomed the children to perform sexual acts on older "clients" he had secure.

"Accused one (advocate's co-accused) arranged the clients and schedules of clients who the children would service daily at his residence," the indictment read.

"Accused one would take a certain percentage of the money for himself that these clients would pay to the children for sexual acts."

The indictment also stated that "[the advocate] made travel arrangements to move the children from accused one's place of residence to his home, where the children would engage in sexual acts with him, his friends, and thereafter be paid".

Both men have also been charged with rape. 

Indictment breakdown of charges against the two accused:

While the accused has pleaded in the sexual assault case, he cannot yet be named as he has not pleaded in the case with the advocate.

The accused cannot be named in terms of the Sexual Offences Act until they have pleaded to the charges.

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