Leano Vergotine hides his face away
Image: Tracy-Lynn Ruiters
The Western Cape High Court has granted the media permission to photograph Leano Vergotine on trial for multiple counts of child rape and pornography.
Vergotine, dressed in a red top and cap and wearing rings on his fingers, objected to photographs being taken of him during court proceedings.
Addressing the court through his defence, Vergotine argued that he comes from the small community of Ceres and claimed that media coverage would place unnecessary attention on his family and prejudice him.
His defence counsel informed the court that she had explained to her client that the media has rights regarding court reporting and open justice proceedings, but despite this, Vergotine maintained his objection to the application.
The State opposed the objection, referencing the widely publicised 2017 triple murder case involving Henri van Breda, where media houses brought an urgent High Court application to film proceedings.
State Prosecutor Renee Uys argued that the court in that matter ruled in favour of media access, finding that coverage was permissible as long as it did not prejudice the trial and remained within the public interest.
Uys further pointed out that Vergotine’s matter was already far advanced in its trial stage and that allowing photographs would not negatively impact proceedings.
Acting Judge Amanda van Leeve ruled in favour of the media application, stating that the matter was being heard in an open court and that the public had a right to know what was happening in the proceedings.
She further found that there would be no prejudice caused by photographs being taken of the accused.
The trial, which is currently in the heads of arguments stage, was postponed until May.
During proceedings, Uys also indicated that the State would need to amend the indictment following amendments to the Films and Publications Act in 2022.
According to Uys, the amendment would not alter the charges currently faced by Vergotine, but would instead amend the legal section relating to the alleged creation of child pornography.
Leano Vergotine looks nothing like his pictures on social media
Image: Supplied
The case centres around the alleged rape of three minor children: one girl and two boys, aged 16, 15, and 9 years old.
Uys said the State will be seeking harsh sentences at the conclusion of the trial.
This includes life imprisonment for each of the rape charges, as well as an additional 15-year sentence linked to the alleged use of children in the production of child pornography.
Vergotine therefore faces the possibility of five life sentences, along with a further 45 years’ imprisonment relating to the exploitation of minors.
41-year-old Vergotine from Ceres, faces five charges of rape of three minors, attempted rape, assault with intent to cause serious injury, kidnapping, three counts of using children to produce child pornography and three counts of producing child pornography and possessing child pornography.
Vergotine has pleaded not guilty to all 17 charges, even after admitting to being the man seen in the footage obtained by the court.
He, however, described the alleged rapes as sexual intercourse, adding that it was consensual.
The state alleges that Vergotine locked a minor girl in his Wendy house between September 9 and 10, 2022, allegedly became aggressive with the girl and threatened her with a knife to take off her clothes. She refused. He then proceeded to undress her, leaving her naked on the bed. He was interrupted and then left the house, locking the girl inside until the next morning.
Upon his return, he proceeded to take pictures of her vagina on his cellphone and then raped her with his penis and tongue.
The girl reported the incident to the police when she was finally released. When police arrested Vergotine, they seized a digital storage device (flash drive) and his cellphone.
When analysing the seized items they found child pornography of other victims, which led to the identification of complainant 2 and 3.
According to a summary of the recordings, which was viewed in camera by acting judge Von Leeve, Vergotine's legal representative and the State, Vergotine, occasionally persuaded the victims to make pornographic videos.
Complainant 2, a 15-year-old boy, was identified through one of these recordings.
This is the same boy Vergotine constantly referred to as being "mooi", he also admitted that he could not control himself with the child.
In the recording, Vergotine takes the child to a deserted wooded area in the Ceres mountains, where Vergotine placed his cellphone in a tree and the alleged rape was filmed.
At the beginning of the video he asks the child to name himself. The accused then tells him to pull down his pants fully and zooms in on his naked penis.
The accused then instructs the boy to turn around and not be shy, he goes on to warn that the video will be distributed worldwide. Vergotine then zooms in on the boy's anus.
He tells the 15-year-old that he was advised that the child was craving (om met) “vaseline te speel".
He instructs him to “hang lekker” and not place his penis on the leaves. He then proceeds to penetrate the anus of the complainant, and said should he take them or a “p**s, he will make sure the video is seen by the entire school.
At one point Vergotine also tells the child he is pinching its sore and mentions that “hy gaan nou breek” and then asks the complainant “kry jy swak vir dit” and goes on telling the complainant “hy is ma tingerig”.
The third victim, a nine-year-old boy, was allegedly raped regularly by Vergotine between January and September 2022. These offences were also recorded on his cellphone.
According to a witness Vergotine regularly went to fetch the boy at his home. Vergotine also performed oral sex on the minor.
In one video, according to court documents, Vergotine can also be seen rubbing the boy's naked buttocks with his hands and penis. The accused tells him to smile at the camera and say awe, the child complies. He goes on to allegedly rape the boy.
In the next videos Vergotine also kisses the boy and tells him “ko ons maak ‘n lekker porn movie,” and advises him that “as jy groot raak gaan dit maklkiker wees.”
In addition to these incidents, the indictment outlines multiple alleged contraventions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act. These include accusations that Vergotine engaged in unlawful sexual conduct involving a minor and committed acts linked to the exploitation of a child.
The State also alleges that, on separate occasions, Vergotine was involved in the possession, creation or distribution of prohibited material involving children, in contravention of the Films and Publications Act.
tracy-lynn.ruiters@inl.co.za