Jhb 'molester' pleads guilty
2005-03-09 08:43
Johannesburg - Benoni resident Peter John Putter admitted to Johannesburg High Court on Tuesday that he kidnapped and molested four schoolgirls two years ago.
In a confession read to the court by his lawyer, 33-year-old-Putter admitted he lured the girls by pretending to be "an undercover policeman investigating people for possession of drugs".
He gave the girls, aged between 11 and 17, the impression they were being searched for drugs, both "physically and internally".
After molesting the girls Putter "apologised profusely".
It was probably only then that the victims realised they had been molested.
Four counts of kidnap
The crimes received wide media attention at the time, between May and September 2003, with Putter being referred to as "the red bakkie molester".
In a small contrite voice, Putter pleaded guilty when his trial started on Tuesday to four counts of kidnapping, three of indecent assault and one of rape.
Putter denied kidnapping a fifth girl, aged 12, in July of that year.
She was expected to give the court details of her ordeal when testifying on Wednesday.
Putter said in his plea explanation: "I deeply regret what I have done and apologise profusely to the complainants and also to their parents."
From the plea explanation it appeared that after Putter induced the teenagers to willingly climb into his bakkie, he gained their confidence by making small talk and by discussing school subjects and boyfriends.
He asked one victim if "she was a virgin" before indecently molesting her while conducting the "internal search".
Victim from the same area
According to the affidavit, Putter even took one girl to task for smoking, because "she was underage".
The "searches" were conducted in the vicinity of the Bredell rubbish dump on the East Rand. All the victims were also from the area.
Regarding the attack on the 17-year-old on July 8 2003, Putter's guilty plea read:
"I instructed her to lie down. She refused. I forced her to the ground. She asked me 'why are you doing this'. She asked me to cease.
"I told her to shut up. I tried unsuccessfully to rape the victim. She sobbed uncontrollably and requested to be returned to her home.
"She said my conscience would bother me for the rest of my life."
The trial continues.
- SAPA