Gerhard Ackerman, the man at the centre of running a child sex ring in South Africa, allegedly tried to find a firearm to shoot himself because he didn’t want to go to jail.
This was revealed in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday January 30, 2023 during hearing.
Ackerman is standing trial on hundreds of charges related to a sex ring allegedly involving the trafficking of young children for clients who would then sexually abuse them.
Ackerman went missing on Thursday after failing to appear in court.
He had told his defence attorney that he was sick.
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However, on Friday, it emerged that he had left his home and sold his moveable assets.
He was found on Sunday and re-arrested.
Wearing a dirty white T-shirt and short pants, with visible injuries on his knees and forehead, Ackerman listened to statements read out by the State.
The investigating team collected these statements during their search for Ackerman.
One of Ackerman’s acquaintances, who knew him as Dante, said he saw Ackerman on Thursday.
He said the suspected child sex ring mastermind told him he had sold all his belongings and was moving to Cape Town.
Ackerman also allegedly said he needed a gun to kill himself because he didn’t want to go to jail.
The trial is continuing.
