Karoo farmer’s stash: Sex toys, lube and ‘sex spray’ revealed in au pair rape trial
Five sex toys, six tubes of lube, a foot massage machine and a so-called “sex spray” promising to “seduce the woman you want” — these were among the items police seized when they arrested Karoo farmer Louis Lategan.
Lategan is on trial for allegedly drugging, trafficking and raping young women he hired as au pairs, with one of them committing suicide and two falling pregnant.
The string of sex goods that were seized came out in the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday when Detective Captain Theo van Zyl took the stand for the state.
Lategan, 42, cut a lonely figure in the dock, again wearing the same black jacket, white shirt and black trousers he has worn throughout the week.
He is accused of running what the state described as a trap for unsuspecting women who believed they were coming to work on his Aberdeen farm.
According to court documents, between 2020 and 2023, Lategan allegedly used au pair agencies and social media to recruit young women from across SA with promises of salaries of up to R30,000 to care for his two children.
But when they arrived, the six women were allegedly drugged, locked in and repeatedly raped.
Their stories, contained in the indictment, were chillingly similar — describing how they were given spiked drinks, lost consciousness and woke up disoriented in his bed.
His alleged reign of terror was short-lived when one of the women managed to escape and raise the alarm.
Lategan was arrested soon after, on July 3, 2023.
He was later denied bail after the court found he was a flight risk and could interfere with witnesses.
Van Zyl, who is prosecutor Nickie Turner’s final witness, told the court that police seized a number of items from Lategan’s car and home.
The findings were documented in photographs.
Among the items was a spray can referred to as a “sex spray”, sealed Trust condoms, six lubricant tubes, knuckle busters and other sex paraphernalia.
Van Zyl, who was part of the investigation team, said the collection of items painted a disturbing picture of how the young women were allegedly exploited.
He also said 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.
During cross-examination, Lategan’s lawyer Danie Gouws asked Van Zyl whether he brought his old diaries to court.
Van Zyl said no.
Turner said they will get the diaries.
A family member of Lategan’s ex-wife said he supported the victims.
“I have been full of admiration for the courage and emotional strength of the witnesses as they have given often harrowing testimony of being initially lured under [alleged] false pretences to Lategan’s Aberdeen farm,” Peter King told IOL.
“They were then [allegedly] drugged and serially and violently raped by him, in some cases over many months.
“The evidence led by the prosecution has been consistent and compelling, revealing the accused as a sociopathic narcissist who preyed on young women with brazen impunity.
“The family is very grateful for the fact that the case has been investigated as well as prosecuted with great thoroughness and professionalism by the criminal justice system.
“We look forward to justice ultimately being served.”
Lategan’s divorce was finalised in October 2020, which granted his ex-wife primary custody of their two children.
While he kept visitation rights, the court ordered that an au pair be present whenever the children visited the farm.
That was the case until January 2021.
Even before the divorce was finalised, Lategan had begun advertising for au pairs on social media and through employment agencies.
It is the state’s case that the job offers were a cover to bring women to the farm for sexual abuse.
The indictment said the women were given drinks that made them drowsy before being sent to their rooms.
They later woke up naked in Lategan’s bed, with him allegedly claiming the encounters were consensual.
The alleged abuse is said to have taken place across several provinces, including the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga.
If found guilty, Lategan could face life imprisonment.
Turner on Tuesday applied for hearsay evidence to be admitted, as the Witbank victim died by suicide.
His legal team, including Gouws, Adv Gustav Joubert and Casper Lötter, indicated that they would oppose the application.
Psychologist Iain Robert Reid also testified.
He said the women developed emotional bonds with their abuser, often as a coping mechanism during captivity or prolonged abuse.
“The accused reportedly would alternate between being angry with her and then being kind to her … as a result of these moments of kindness, she felt there may be a future in their relationship and did develop feelings for him,” Reid said.
Lategan is no stranger to the law.
He has previous convictions for assault and reckless driving and received a suspended sentence for kidnapping and sexual assault in 2022.
He was also once accused of being involved in a plot to kill former president Jacob Zuma, though that case never led to a conviction.
The trial continues.
IOL News