Captain Karin Botha, a forensic social worker with the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offenses (FCS) Unit in Germiston, testified in an ongoing human trafficking trial on November 11 that the two sisters, victims of the case, told him that their mother’s actions had ruined their lives.

The case is being heard by a High Court sitting at Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court, where Heidelberg lawyer Carel Schoeman, 35, and the girls’ mother, 38, are facing a spate of allegations of sexually abusing the siblings.

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The offenses allegedly took place in Ekurhuleni (Boksburg, Heidelberg, Brakpan, Springs) and Villiers (Free State), Amanzimtoti and Ramsgate (KwaZulu-Natal) between mid-2022 and early 2023.

The mother is accused of advertising the sexual services of her daughters, then 13 and 11, and pimping them, while Schoeman is accused of buying the 13-year-old from the mother.

Schoeman (defendant two) faces 26 charges and the mother faces 72 charges. Both recently pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Charges against the pair include rape, sexual abuse of a minor, child trafficking and pointing a firearm.
Three witnesses took the stand last week.

Botha assessed both girls (now 13 and 15) to determine whether they would make competent witnesses.

According to Botha, the girls could clearly explain what happened to them, adding that they could distinguish between truth and lies and recognize the consequences of lying.

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She found the two minors competent to testify, but said it would have to be done through an intermediary.

According to Botha, the eldest child told her that the sexual abuse by her mother and Schoeman ruined her life.

The younger sister also told Botha that her mother and Schoeman’s plans had ruined her life.

In her testimony, Botha said the mother neglected to send her children, including two other children, aged six and nine, to school.

However, the 15-year-old is now home-schooled, while the 13-year-old was placed at school after much difficulty, their mother allegedly not registering their births with the Home Affairs Department.
The youngest graduated from the second grade, and the oldest from the fourth grade.