Wild child-sex shocker

from: Independent Online, South Africa
Oct. 15, 2002

By Zelda Venter

The Pretoria High Court will have to review a damning bundle of pictures of explicit sex material.

The hefty collection of pictures, many of them depicting children in sexual positions, includes images portraying a 35-year-old man who is accused of performing sexual acts with boys while wearing leather underwear and face masks.

The pictures were handed in as an exhibit in the trial of Michiel Josias Meintjies, who, in a soft and trembling voice, on Monday admitted to performing sexual deeds with a 12-year-old boy, the child's 15-year-old brother, as well as with another unidentified child.

He also admitted that he took pornographic pictures of some of the children in sexual positions, or while they were performing sexual deeds.

However, Meintjies insisted he did not develop the films. He said this was done after his arrest by the police.

After Meintjies several times insisted that he knew what he had done was wrong, Judge Ronnie Boshielo convicted him on six charges, including contravening the Sexual Offences Act, while the other charges relate to the making of child pornographic films.

Meintjies pleaded not guilty to 10 further charges under the Sexual Offences Act.

These include alleged sexual acts with two siblings - a 7-year-old boy and his 9-year-old brother.

While the accused admitted in some instances that he did have oral sex with some of the children and to which charges he pleaded guilty, he denied that he had sodomised them.

The state, however, said it would prove these charges against the accused.

The trial of Meintjies had to stand down for several days in order for him to be fitted with two hearing aid devices after he complained that he was deaf.

The haunted-looking man moved around in the dock with a limp, and his left arm and hand appear deformed.

The sexual deeds to which he pleaded guilty stemmed from 1998, when he was a lodger with a family in Gezina.

Meintjies pleaded guilty to performing sexual acts with the family's two sons, aged 12 and 15.

He was arrested shortly after this. The police at the time found pornographic pictures of an unidentified girl in his possession.

After he was released on bail, Meintjies lodged with another family in Danville. It is claimed that he also performed indecent acts with their two sons, a 7-year-old and 9-year-old.

He pleaded not guilty to these charges.

The state was on Tuesday due to apply for the children to give evidence with the help of an intermediary and through closed-circuit TV.

The defence gave notice that it would ask for the children to testify in open court.

©2002 Independent Online