'He deserves no sympathy'

2007-08-07 14:04

Cape Town - Convicted child killer Theunis Olivier is a serial liar who deserves no mercy, the father of six-year-old Steven Siebert said on Tuesday.

Briefing the media at the Cape High Court, Thomas Siebert said Olivier had told a lot of lies regarding the events leading to Steven's death.

"Because he kept on changing his version, we will never know what exactly happened, except that he killed our son. It is difficult to have sympathy for such kind of a person," he said.

The fact that Olivier managed to secure a job in South Africa and at one stage was even working with children, despite the fact that he did not have an identity document, was proof that children were not safe in this country, Siebert said.

"There is a lot more that still needs to be done to protect children."

No cure for paedophilia

Olivier was last week convicted of the kidnapping, indecent assault and murder of Steven, who went missing while on holiday with his family in Plettenberg Bay in December 2005.

In a statement submitted to court confessing to the crime, he had said that he was of a sane mind at the time he murdered Steven.

However, he later changed his version, saying one of his alter egos, Theo, was responsible for the crime.

He had told people he worked with in Plettenberg Bay that his wife died in a car crash in Zimbabwe.

When cross examined in court, he admitted that he had lied and his wife was alive.

Olivier also told the court that he suffered from a multiple personality disorder, a mental condition that could be treated.

However, this was disputed by psychiatrists who evaluated him shortly after his arrest.

Sean Kaliski, one of the psychiatrists who evaluated Olivier, told the court that Olivier in fact had paedophilia, a condition for which there is no cure.

"The only treatment available is to keep him away from children," he said.

On Tuesday, State prosecutor Jan Theron asked the court to sentence Olivier to life imprisonment.

He is due to be sentenced on Wednesday.

- SAPA