A Karoo farmer accused of raping and trafficking au pairs claimed in court on Wednesday that it had been the young women who were more than happy to jump into bed with him.
Louis Lategan told the Makhanda High Court that while he did indeed have sex with them, in some cases it even happened on the very first night they moved into his home — a home where they had been hired to look after his two minor children.
Taking the stand in his own defence for the very first time, the 42-year-old livestock farmer made the claim while being peppered with questions from his lawyer, Advocate Gustav Joubert.
Lategan is accused of luring six young women to his Aberdeen farm under the guise of au‑pair work, drugging them, and repeatedly raping them — charges that also include human trafficking.
One woman has since committed suicide, and evidence that Lategan drove her to take her own life was thrown out of court after retired Judge Judith Roberson ruled it inadmissible.
The women may not be named in order to protect their identities.
Lategan, who has so far only testified about his encounters with three of the women, was arrested in July 2023, after handing himself in to police at his Aberdeen farm.
Lategan was denied bail twice, first in September 2023 and again in August 2024.
He has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and claims it was nothing but consensual sex between adults.
The alleged abuse stretched across several provinces, including the Eastern Cape, KwaZulu‑Natal, Gauteng, and Mpumalanga.
Lategan’s divorce from the mother of his two children was finalised in October 2020, which granted his ex-wife primary custody of the kids.
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.
It is the state’s case that Lategan’s scheme worked by recruiting young women through au-pair agencies and social media, offering them what seemed like legitimate jobs caring for his children, with promised monthly salaries of up to R30,000.
Once the women arrived at his farm, prosecutor Nickie Turner told the court, they were spiked — often through their drinks — and then locked in and sexually assaulted.
But Lategan, during his testimony, described it differently, saying they were simply “making love”.
He appeared calm and collected in court, though at times tears welled up in his eyes.
Lategan spoke about the first woman he hired, saying she had even “grabbed” and kissed him before they reached his farm.
He said he picked her up in Bloemfontein.
“She kissed me so many times,” Lategan said.
“I had even warned her about other cars on the road … I told her she should not try and kiss me while I am driving.
“As we were driving from Bloemfontein, she asked me how old I was, so I said to her that she must take a guess.”
He said she guessed that he was 27.
“I laughed about that.”
He said he then took her to visit his grandmother in Graaff-Reinet, before stopping at a bar in Aberdeen where they were swigging a couple of drinks.
He said he gave her the money to buy the drinks.
By the time they arrived at his farm, it was dark, he said.
Lategan said he picked her up and carried her into the house.
He said he led her to the kitchen and joked, “You [the au pair] may now kiss the bride”.
He admitted he eventually gave in and had sex with her after she began undoing his shirt.
Lategan said they then had a long and happy relationship — until he discovered her past involvement with satanic cults.
He said she had confessed that they would “inject babies with morphine” and braai them.
Lategan said he was “shocked” and sent her away.
When Joubert asked about the boy born to this woman and whether Lategan knew he could be the child’s father, Lategan removed his glasses and wiped tears from his face.
He also testified about the second complainant from eMalahleni, as well as the third complainant, who has since committed suicide.
The story was very much the same, with Lategan alluding to the women initiating the first move.
Joubert also asked Lategan questions about his personal life.
Lategan said he grew up with his mother and father on a farm, and also spent much of his childhood with his grandparents.
He has two younger sisters, and his parents and grandparents have since passed away.
He also said he left school when he was in grade 10.
“My heart was more on what was happening on the farm … I was not much interested in what was happening at school,” he said.
He later married, but the marriage went through what he described as “a very dry spell”.
When he “wiped his eyes”, as he put it, she had already become interested in someone else.
He said she eventually left the farm with their children and cannot clearly recall when this happened.
Lategan said there was initially a verbal arrangement regarding access to the children, but over time, it became increasingly difficult, especially once another man was in the picture.
He said the situation broke him and made him “sick”.
He and his wife eventually finalised their divorce.
After the divorce, formal arrangements were put in place for the children, and though there were still complications, it was ultimately agreed that the children would visit him on the farm every second weekend and that holidays would be shared.
previously reported that after Lategan’s arrest, police seized a number of items from his car and home.
Among the items was a spray can referred to as a “sex spray”, sealed Trust condoms, six lubricant tubes, knuckle dusters and other sex paraphernalia.
His testimony continues on Thursday.
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