Elderly paedophile gets 15 years in jail
2013-01-29 19:42
Cape Town - Convicted paedophile, Johannes Kleinhans, was jailed for 15 years on Tuesday on 95 counts that included sexual assaults on three pubescent girls over a period of two years, possession and the manufacture of child pornography, and the use of the girls for the manufacture of the pornography.
He appeared in the Parow Regional Court in Cape Town before magistrate Amanda van Leeve, who ordered that his name be entered in the Register for Sexual Offenders.
Although no firearms were used in the commission of the offences, he was declared unfit to possess any firearms, in accordance with the Criminal Procedures Act.
This means that Kleinhans may no longer have in his possession a variety of firearms, including a hunting rifle that he inherited.
Kleinhans, 74, was prominent in business circles at the time of his arrest in 2009, held directorships in numerous companies and was the chief executive of one of them.
The magistrate said Kleinhans had hired a house which he stocked with liquor, pornography and condoms for his three victims.
He had also equipped the house with gym equipment, to give the impression that the three victims, who visited the house regularly, were doing so for gym purposes.
Van Leeve praised Chanelle Brand, who lived next door to the house, for alerting the police after she became suspicious of the goings-on in the house.
"It was as a result of her, that the police kept observation on the house, obtained a warrant to search it and then arrested Kleinhans.
"Had it not been for her, Kleinhans would still be exploiting the girls, and the chances are that he would never have been brought to book," she said.
Brand attended Tuesday's proceedings, and burst into tears when Kleinhans was led from the courtroom to the holding cells.
Van Leeve said she had searched the judicial Law Reports as well as dictionaries, to find appropriate words to describe the harm that Kleinhans had inflicted on his victims.
She said all 95 counts related to the sexual exploitation of children.
She told Kleinhans: "What you did to these girls was despicable, degrading and disgusting, and that does not even start to describe what you have done."
She said the one victim, 13 at the time of the offences, had testified in court with a vacant expression, and was receiving treatment for severe depression.
Van Leeve added: "This is what you inflicted on a 13-year-old child. You have destroyed the lives of all three victims, taken away their youth and the future that they might have had."
Van Leeve said: "The protection of minors falls squarely on the shoulders of this court, as their upper-guardian."
Van Leeve said Kleinhans had "dressed the three girls as adults, to satisfy his sexual fantasies".
She said the three girls were not his only victims, as Kleinhans, in his bail proceedings, had mentioned other victims who had not featured in the case.
She said the photographs that Kleinhans had taken of the girls were not just of them in the nude, but many focused entirely on their privates.
She added: "The photographs shown to the court were disgusting and repulsive, and it is uncertain whether these young girls will ever return to normal."
- SAPA
