Louis Lategan Found Guilty of Human Trafficking and Rape of 6 Women on Karoo Farm
- Louis Lategan, 42, stood trial in the Makhanda High Court over allegations involving six young women he hired as au pairs on his Karoo farm
- The women, aged 18 to 24, alleged they were drugged and woke up in Lategan's bed with no memory of what had occurred
- The case carried devastating consequences for some of the six women involved, including a death, a birth, and a lost pregnancy
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EASTERN CAPE — A Karoo farmer has been convicted of human trafficking and rape after six young women hired to care for his children on a remote farm testified against him in a protracted court case.
The Makhanda High Court found Louis Lategan, 42, guilty on Wednesday. Judge Judith Roberson convicted him of trafficking all six complainants, who were between 18 and 24 years old when the offences occurred on his farm in Xamdeboo, a town in the Eastern Cape formerly known as Aberdeen.
How Lategan recruited his victims
According to IOL, state advocate Nickie Turner told the court that the women had been struggling to find work when they accepted what they believed were legitimate au pair positions caring for Lategan's two children. Instead, Turner submitted, Lategan gave the women drinks laced with an unidentified substance. Each of them reportedly regained consciousness in his bed, unable to account for what had taken place.
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Lategan denied the drugging allegations throughout the trial, insisting that all sexual contact was consensual.
Convictions across multiple charges
Of the six women, Lategan was convicted of raping three. He was acquitted on rape charges brought by two others but was found guilty of assaulting them. He was also convicted on three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm involving children aged 11, 12 and 13, along with a further count of assaulting a child. Two adult farm workers were among additional assault victims named in the conviction, and he was found guilty of unlawful possession of ammunition.
Lategan had initially faced 22 charges in total. A rape charge involving a minor was dismissed at the close of the State's case.
The circumstances surrounding some of the six women cast a long shadow over the proceedings. One woman died by suicide in February 2022. A second gave birth to a child fathered by Lategan, while a third lost a pregnancy while living on the farm.
Lategan is expected to return to the Makhanda High Court for sentencing following his convictions on the multiple counts.
SA farmer convicted in the US
Previously, Briefly News reported a South African man from KwaZulu-Natal who was arrested in the United States on child pornography charges has pleaded guilty. Reports from the US Attorney General of the Northern District of New York, Meyer and is expected to be sentenced in August 2026. If sentenced under the charges, Meyer could face between five and 20 years behind bars. He could also be ordered to pay fines of up to $250,000 (about R4.6 million) and would be required to register as a sex offender after serving his sentence.
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Source: Briefly News
