A boy’s innocent comment to his mother about sucking cheese off their boarder’s penis led to the boarder’s conviction on Thursday on two counts of indecent assault involving children.
Before the Cape Town Regional Court was landscaper Jan Johannes Schietekat (52) who, according to his record which was handed to court, has already spent much of his life in jail for sexual offences.
Schietekat appeared before magistrate Arno Laubscher and his case was remanded to December 12 for sentencing. Schietekat has been in custody since his arrest in July last year.
His protracted trial was a sequel to incidents last year involving the boy and his sister at their Table View home, where Schietekat boarded.
On the first count, he allegedly fondled the girl’s private parts and licked her buttocks while alone with her at her parental home.
On the second charge, a sock was pulled over the boy’s eyes, and he was then allegedly induced to suck cheese spread off Schietekat’s penis.
On another count he was alleged to have caressed the girl’s breasts, but due to contradictions in the girl’s testimony he was found not guilty
Laubscher rejected as false Schietekat’s outright denial of the incidents involving the girl. There was no reason for her to have fabricated the stories, the magistrate said.
The magistrate also rejected Schietekat’s version of the cheese spread incident — namely, that Schietekat was making a sandwich for himself and, playing a game with the boy, placed a sock over his head and induced him to suck cheese off Schietekat’s thumb.
The cheese incident came to light when the boy, seated on Schietekat’s lap in the presence of his mother, innocently blurted: ”Mum, do you know what he (Schietekat) did?”
Still on Schietekat’s lap, the boy then told the story to his shocked mother.
Later, the mother secretly informed the local Child Protection Unit, and in the course of discreet questioning, the incidents involving the girl also came to light.
Schietekat had two previous convictions for theft, but his criminal record involving sexual abuse started in 1978. In one case that year, he was fined R500 or six months, and in another the same year was given a suspended jail sentence. In 1985 he was effectively jailed for 14 years for rape, four counts of attempted rape, and one of indecent assault.
He was paroled in 1995 but the next year was jailed again for 409 days for breaching parole conditions. – Sapa