Karoo farmer's defence claims ex-wife manipulated au pair rape allegations
Louis Lategan
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It was a move, the defence suggested, aimed at bringing Louis Lategan down — a campaign to see the once successful Karoo farmer fall — as he faces charges of trafficking and raping young au pairs.
The livestock farmer’s three-man legal team raised this during cross-examination of one of the investigators on Wednesday in the Makhanda High Court.
During questioning of Detective Captain Theo van Zyl, the last witness for the state, lawyer Danie Gouws read messages between one of the six victims — the same young woman who became pregnant as a result of the alleged rape — and Lategan’s ex-wife.
Gouws suggested the messages were relevant to understanding the dynamics behind the case and whether any influence had been exerted in bringing the allegations forward.
One message highlighted by Gouws showed the ex-wife contacting an investigating officer on behalf of the victim.
“She [the victim] wishes to make a statement,” it read.
“I will send you one off her voice notes, my [new] husband will send everything.”
The messages also arranged a time and place for the victim to meet the investigator.
Gouws also said the messages were exchanged even before the first case was officially opened.
On another occasion, the ex-wife allegedly messaged a victim mentioning Lategan bathing his young daughter and saying they “will win the case".
State prosecutor Nickie Turner quickly questioned the relevance, noting that Van Zyl could not testify to the content.
The trial, which has captured public attention, centres on six women who said they were lured to Lategan’s farm in Aberdeen under the pretext of au pair work.
The women allege they were drugged, held against their will, and sexually abused.
One of the women later died by suicide, the state said.
Lategan was arrested on July 3 2023, and has been in custody since.
He faces multiple counts of sexual assault, trafficking, and abuse related to the young women.
His divorce from his ex-wife was finalised in October 2020, granting her primary custody of their two children.
While Lategan retained visitation rights, the court ordered that an au pair be present whenever the children visited the farm.
Even before the divorce was finalised, he had advertised for au pairs on social media and through employment agencies.
According to the indictment, seen by IOL, the job offers served as a cover for the alleged abuse.
Van Zyl, as previously reported, also described finding a large stash of sex toys, lubricants, a massage machine, and sexual sprays at the farm.
The items were discovered in his car and inside his house and were photographed and documented as evidence.
He told the court that the collection matched the victims’ accounts and appeared to have been used during the alleged abuse.
Van Zyl said that most of the victims did not approach the police themselves.
He said that towards the end of November 2022 a psychologist contacted the police, saying she was providing counselling to one of the victims.
“She informed us that the woman complained about rape incidents on the farm and that she had been lured there under false pretences.”
Van Zyl said when he realised it was going to be an intensive investigation, he jumped on the case.
He said it then snowballed and more and more names popped up, which he and the lead investigator followed up on.
The trial continues on Thursday.
IOL News