Theunis Olivier, who murdered six-year-old Steven Siebert, was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Cape Town High Court on Wednesday.
Pronouncing sentence, Judge Essa Moosa described Olivier as a cold and callous murderer.
”The victim must have endured excruciating pain when you indecently assaulted him and yet you displayed no emotion as you watched him die — your conduct has been cold and callous,” he said.
Olivier was sentenced to 10 years for kidnapping, 14 years for indecent assault and life imprisonment for murder.
Moosa said the crimes that Olivier committed on a ”young and defenceless child” were not only damaging to the victim, but to his family. Quoting from a letter Olivier had sent out to the media shortly after his arrest, where he admitted that his crimes had broken the hearts of Steven’s family, Moosa said the murderer’s words were a true reflection of how those who loved the young boy were affected.
”Those words portray eloquently the effect your crime had on Steven’s family.
”The court needs to send a clear message that it will act firmly against those who commit heinous crimes,” he said.
Olivier, who did not show any emotion as the judge pronounced sentence, had blamed his alleged multiple-personality disorder for the murder of Steven, saying psychiatrists who evaluated him had failed to diagnose his condition because some of them hated him and were also unprofessional.
However, Moosa said the psychiatrists had demonstrated a high level of professionalism, and that their integrity was beyond reproach.
”You are a pathological liar who will go at any length to discredit any one who differs with you.
”I’m satisfied that you are a confirmed paedophile,” he said.
Olivier was arrested December 2005 after Steven went missing while on holiday in Plettenberg Bay with his family.
The six-year-old’s body was later found in dense bushes close to the house where Olivier stayed.
During the search, Olivier had denied having seen the boy and offered to help in the search.
However, upon his arrest, he immediately made a confession to a magistrate.
It later emerged that the gruesome deed Olivier committed on Steven was the latest in a spate of other child molestation crimes he had committed.
He was convicted for molesting several children in Zimbabwe and served 15 years in that country’s prisons.
Upon his release in 2000, he came to South Africa, where shortly afterwards, he was arrested for similar crimes in KwaZulu-Natal. The charges were later dropped following a police bungle. — Sapa