Au pairs’ nightmare: Farmer on trial for 'drugging, raping' young women
A gripping trial is unfolding at the Makhanda High Court in the Eastern Cape, where farmer Louis Lategan stands accused of heinous crimes, including rape, human trafficking and assault.
The allegations emerged from testimony that recounted the harrowing experiences of young women he reportedly lured to his Aberdeen farm under the guise of employment as au pairs for his children.
Allegations have surfaced that the 42-year-old drugged the women with tainted drinks upon their arrival, forcing them into desolate circumstances where they were held against their will, sexually assaulted, and abused.
One young woman succumbed to the weight of her trauma, taking her own life after being raped in the mielie fields, while another two women fell pregnant. Their identities have been protected during the trial.
On Tuesday, Lategan sat stoically in a black jacket, white shirt and black trousers, taking notes aspsychologist Iain Robert Reid detailed the emotional and mental toll inflicted on the victims.
Reid 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 has been in custody since his arrest on July 3 2023, after his bail was denied.
He has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including human trafficking, rape, assault and the unlawful possession of more than 200 cartridges.
The trial is being led by state prosecutor Nickie Turner, with Lategan defended by three attorneys, Gustav Joubert, Danie Gouws and Casper Lötter.
The indictment, seen by IOL, reveals a pattern that six women have described in strikingly similar terms.
Lategan is accused of using au pair agencies to recruit young women with promises of up to R30,000 to care for his home and children.
Once they arrived, the women say they were held against their will and sexually assaulted. Only one of the women was reportedly ever paid for her work.
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.
According to the state, these job offers were a cover to bring women to the farm for sexual abuse.
The indictment says 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.
Reid testified that the first young woman woke in the accused’s bed with no memory of the previous night or any sexual activity.
She told him that because of her isolation and lack of supportive relationships, she initially developed feelings for the accused and even imagined a future with him.
Over time, she realised this was not possible and decided to leave the farm.
Her situation worsened when she discovered she was six and a half months pregnant.
Reid said her emotional and financial vulnerability had been shaped by a difficult family background.
She grew up in a home marked by constant conflict between her parents, with her mother often using corporal punishment.
Despite the tension, her parents remained married.
During her final year at school, she suffered from depression and engaged in self-harming behaviour.
She was admitted to a private psychiatric hospital and diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
After an argument with her mother, she was asked to leave home and went to stay with an aunt, unemployed and without a secure home.
Reid said she had been emotionally vulnerable and prone to depression due to her upbringing and circumstances.
The second young woman, Reid said, was relatively inexperienced and faced her own challenges.
She had learning disorders and had attended a special school where social exclusion had undermined her confidence.
She suffered from anxiety and panic attacks and was unsure of herself around adults. Her family faced significant financial pressure, making the farm job appear to be an opportunity to help.
Reid said her low self-confidence, emotional immaturity, and the isolation she experienced on the farm would have made her especially vulnerable to manipulation and abuse.
A third young woman had a complex and unstable family background and had been sexually abused twice, including a prolonged period as a teenager by her stepfather.
Reid explained that instead of receiving support, she was sent to live with her grandmothers, first in Melkbosstrand and later in Margate.
She was young, emotionally immature, had little experience of the outside world, and lacked strong family support.
Reid noted that being blamed for the abuse further compounded her vulnerability when she arrived at the farm at age 18.
He said the other women went through a similar ordeal.
Gouws said the defence appointed a psychologist of their own.
Regarding the young Witbank woman who took her own life, Turner on Tuesday applied for hearsay evidence to be admitted as the deceased can’t speak for herself.
“It is common cause that he had intercourse with [the victim], that she was impregnated and took her own life,” she said.
“It is common cause that [Lategan] knew beforehand she intended to commit suicide.”
Turner said the victim was not in a relationship with the accused.
The first alleged victim, a 21-year-old from Bloemfontein, arrived at the farm in March 2020.
Her father had seen the Facebook post and passed it on to her. Shortly after arriving, she was allegedly given a drink that left her drowsy and ill.
The next morning, she awoke naked in the accused’s bed.
The alleged pattern continued over several weeks.
After leaving the farm following the statewide Covid-19 lockdown, she discovered she was pregnant and gave birth to the accused’s child on January 31, 2021.
A second woman, 24, responded to a similar job offer in May 2020. She is from Witbank.
She was allegedly given drinks that caused her to lose consciousness and subsequently woke up naked in the accused’s bed.
The abuse reportedly continued during her stay on the farm. She left in January 2022 after suffering sexual assault and later took her own life in February.
The accused allegedly continued recruiting young women throughout 2022.
In July, he brought a 21-year-old from Nxuba to the farm, but she left after refusing his advances.
In August, an 18-year-old woman met him in Gqeberha and was allegedly raped after drinking alcohol he provided.
She later left the farm after her grandmother passed away.
Between July and December 2022, another 20-year-old woman travelled from Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal to work on the farm.
She was allegedly given drinks that left her incapacitated and was sexually assaulted multiple times, resulting in a pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage.
During this period, the accused’s children were visiting the farm.
She attempted to escape but returned after being persuaded by the accused, enduring further abuse before receiving medical treatment in George and Gauteng.
The trial continues on Wednesday.
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