An alleged paedophile brought his trial in the Pretoria High Court to a temporary halt with an angry, tearful outburst in which he described the investigating officer in his case as a liar and threatened to get even with him.
Michiel Meintjies (35) repeatedly gestured and insisted on consulting with his advocate while investigating officer Inspector Martin Engelbrecht gave evidence. Meintjies has admitted guilt on five charges relating to the manufacture and possession of child pornography, but denied guilt on ten further charges, including charges of sodomy and indecent assault of young boys and girls.
”He’s telling lies. Excuse my language, but he’s talking all kinds of shit. I’ll get you. I’m not finished with you. You assaulted me and you’re not going to get away with it. I don’t care what happens to me, but I’ll get you,” Meintjies shouted at Engelbrecht.
He also showed his lame hand to Judge Ronnie Bosielo, claiming that Engelbrecht was responsible for his injury. He told the court he had a ”terrible grudge” against the investigating officer. He later apologised to the court for his outburst, saying that he had not taken his tranquiliser that morning.
Engelbrecht, who said he was currently on sick leave due to post-traumatic stress brought on by his seven years at the Child Protection Unit, testified that Meintjies had been arrested twice for allegedly indecently assaulting children — once in 1998 and again in 2001.
He was arrested for the first time after police received a complaint from a Pretoria mother of two young boys, but was granted bail in 1999 because of a prosecutor’s ”mistake”.
He was again arrested after police received a second complaint from a Danville mother. After his first arrest, police found in his possession a huge collection of pornographic magazines, two male pornographic videos, sex toys, sketches of naked girls, bunny rabbits, fairies and dwarfs engaged in sexual acts.
Police also found rolls of film that, when developed, displayed explicit scenes of child pornography and ordinary videos and toys used to lure children to his flat.
Meintjies was calm at first during his first arrest, but after police searched his property he became aggressive, grabbing the steering wheel of the police car and biting Engelbrecht so hard the marks were visible. When Engelbrecht visited Meintjies at the police station the day after his arrest, he found him in a corner cutting his wrists with a razor blade.
During his arrest and court appearances, Meintjies repeatedly masturbated. He put semen in his mouth and pretended to have epileptic fits and then attacked the policemen who tried to help him. He also threw semen at people in the magistrate’s court. It was as a result of this behaviour that he was referred to a psychiatric hospital.
After Meintjies was released on bail, Engelbrecht often saw him talking to children near his unit’s office in Pretoria North. ”He used to look at me and laugh,” he said. During his second arrest, police found more pornographic material and a photo album containing many photos of a young girl in suggestive poses.
Police managed to trace the girl, who is now 21 years old, but she refused to testify. The investigating officer said Meintjies had pressed his private parts against the police van’s window and also defecated and urinated in the van on the way to the police station after his arrest.
Counsel for Meintjies in cross-examination put it to Engelbrecht that he would deny masturbating and throwing semen at people. He admitted to trying to commit suicide and defecating in a police van, but said he was suicidal and lost control of his bodily functions when he had an epileptic fit.
To Meintjies’ claim that the investigator had assaulted him, Engelbrecht said he was not a violent man and would not assault an accused.
”If I hit him, then I must also have hit the man who raped a baby the other day. I work with cases involving children. I cannot be aggressive,” he said.
The trial continues on Tuesday. – Sapa