'Advocate Barbie' pleads not guilty

Cezanne Visser, also known as “Advocate Barbie”, pleaded not guilty on Monday to charges of soliciting minors to perform indecent acts.

Appearing in the dock in the Pretoria High Court, Visser pleaded not guilty to 14 charges including indecent assault, rape and the manufacturing of child pornography.

Visser—looking professional in a striped shirt and black trousers—appeared relaxed as she pleaded to all the charges.

Her defence is that she was coerced by her then boyfriend Dirk Prinsloo to perform the criminal acts.

“She had no will of her own,” said advocate Johann Engelbrecht.

The trial, which was halted in 2007 after the presiding judge died, will resume at 2pm.

Expert witnesses including psychiatrists and psychologists are expected to be called.

Visser is also due to make certain admissions before Acting Judge Chris Eksteen.

The state alleged that Visser had fetched young girls from children’s homes under false pretences, and subjected them to sexual abuse.

Among the charges, she also faces an allegation of fraud for falsely claiming she was married to Prinsloo in order to gain access to the children.

Visser, now in her early 30s, was 25 at the time of the offences in 2002.

The couple allegedly exposed themselves to the girls, showed pornography to them and even had sex in front of one of them.

A number of adult woman victims have also laid charges of indecent assault.

Prinsloo, who fled the country to avoid possibly being found guilty is still on the run and remains on Interpol’s wanted list.—Sapa