Child sex ring accused Gerhard Ackerman says he trained over 70 boys on how to give sexual massages

Gerhard Ackerman said the idea to open a massage parlour that would result in a 'happy ending' came from boy child who he had taken in

28 February 2023 - 06:51
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WARNING: THIS STORY CONTAINS REFERENCES OF A STRONG SEXUAL NATURE. 

The alleged operator of a child sex ring syndicate, Gerhard Ackerman has admitted to having sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old boy. 

Ackerman made the disturbing confession in the high court in Johannesburg on Monday. 

He ran a massage business where clients would reportedly pay for massages and sexual experiences with the boys who performed the massages. 

Addressing the court, Ackerman said his massage business, which initially started in Pretoria where he was renting a flat, was proposed by one of the minor boys he was staying with at the time.

At the time, Ackerman was  accommodating two boys — an orphan and one who had left home because of   “harsh conditions” he had been exposed to.

“I gave them free accommodation. One of the boys was 17 or 18. He suggested why don’t we start a business from the flat. I said ‘what business’ and he said the massage business. I said ‘who is going to do the massage?’ I thought 'well that is not a bad idea maybe we should try it'. We tried it and it went well,” he told the court.

Ackerman said he bought a massage bed and subsequently the word spread and a lot of boys contacted him asking to work at his massage parlour. Many of them needed money and didn’t have a place to stay.

“Some of them were doing prostitution work from the street and I told them I will take you out of that prostitution environment and come work here. But I [had] one golden rule. No sex with clients — no penetration sex with clients,” he said.

When asked by his attorney what age these 'boys' were, , he replied that they were minors who were however, over the age of 16, saying it was from this age that they could understand and consent to sex.

He said he always knew that the age of 16 is the age for consent to sex in SA. 

A relaxed Ackerman took off his jacket as he delivered his testimony, giving  his version of events.

The accused is charged with more than 700 counts of child porn, abuse and rape.
Gerhard Ackerman The accused is charged with more than 700 counts of child porn, abuse and rape.
Image: Kayleen Morgan

He said though he did not permit sex at his establishment, there was a ‘happy ending’ which was part of the massage. Without it, he said, clients would have no interest in the services they offered. 

“First in the gay world, things like that are very common. It is nothing to us to do things like a happy ending,” he said.

He said though the client would get a 15-minute time of the massage, the other 10 minutes would be a ‘happy ending.’ 

“The focus for me was always on the massage but not the last part. Without that we wouldn’t have any business,” he said indicating that the emphasis was always on giving the boys proper training on how to do a proper massage on the client's legs and back.

“I’ve always told the guys don’t do anything that you don’t want to do and I always told them that [the] happy ending is going to be part of it. [I asked] 'are you OK with it?' If you're not then I am going to find a client that only wants a massage and not a happy ending,” he said.

Ackerman told the court that he had trained about 70 to 100 masseuses and there wasn’t any of them who didn’t want the ‘happy ending.’

“I’ve read holistic books about massages, the history of massages. A full body massage. We are males [so the massage] includes the massage of the penis as well,” he said.

Judge Ismail Mahomed asked him about the rate for massages including those that were to result in a ‘happy ending.’ Ackerman said these usually cost  around R800 to R900.

“There was never a fixed rate that I made the client pay the masseuse. Whatever he got, he paid me 20%,” Ackerman replied. 

Asked by the judge to be blunt and more specific on what a happy ending is, the court heard that a happy ending referred to the boys masturbating the client.

“My Lord I would show the client a picture of whoever is available and when he wants to come — I will send him three or four pictures of [the one he is interested in booking] ,” he said. 

Ackerman said as his business progressed, he moved from Pretoria to Sandton and then to Sandringham. 

Ackerman told the court that most of the boys who worked for him made contact with him as word of his business got around. 

“Sometimes I would approach boys on Grindr [App] and Facebook,” he said.

He told the court that at one point he contacted the department of labour while he was operating in Sandton, inquiring about registering the business and employing people. He said  they told him that there was no way he could register the business.

Ackerman said all the boys who worked for him were 16 years and older except for one, referred to as TW, who was three weeks shy of turning  16.

Asked whether he knew it was against the law to use or obtain explicit videos from persons under the age of 18,  Ackerman said he did not know, emphasising that he   thought 16 was the legal age of sex 'for a boy or a girl.”

He said when TW arrived at his place, he told him that he wasn’t allowed to do any ‘happy endings’ because of his age. Ackerman said  TW insisted that he wanted to do it and claimed he was very bored with his life.

Ackerman said he did not discuss or teach  TW about ‘happy endings’  but he trained him on massages and he would practise on him for the correct pressure and also the technique.

When asked about SJ, another minor who stayed with him and whom he met on Grindr, he replied that he came to him as he needed a place to stay and wanted to make money.

He said he trained SJ, who was 16 at the time, and admitted to having sex with him. When Alberts asked him how did he have sex with SJ, he replied that they were doing the training and he instigated sex.

Ackerman, is facing more than 700 charges including unlawful possession of child pornography, sexual grooming of children, human trafficking, procuring child pornography, sexual assault, sexual exploitation of children, rape, attempted murder and malicious damage to property.

The trial is set to continue on Tuesday when Ackerman will continue with his testimony. 

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