Acting Judge Judith Roberson convicted Karoo farmer Louis Lategan, 42, in the Makhanda High Court on Wednesday 16 September 2026 on five counts of rape, six counts of human trafficking and eight counts of assault after he lured six young women to his remote Eastern Cape farm under the guise of au pair work between 2020 and 2023. Image: Eugene Coetzee/The Herald
The Makhanda High Court found Karoo farmer Louis Lategan, 42, guilty on Wednesday 16 September 2026. Acting Judge Judith Roberson convicted him on five counts of rape, six counts of human trafficking and eight counts of assault. The Louis Lategan guilty verdict covers women he lured to his remote farm in Xamdeboo under the guise of au pair work. Furthermore, Judge Roberson found that Lategan acted with premeditation and noted a distinct pattern in how he recruited the women. As a result, one of the most harrowing trafficking and rape cases in recent South African court history ended in a conviction on multiple counts.
Lategan recruited six young women between 18 and 24 to work as au pairs between 2020 and 2023. His divorce order of 6 October 2020 required him to have an au pair on the farm during his children’s visits. He used this as cover to recruit vulnerable women struggling to find work. State advocate Nickie Turner told the court that Lategan laced the women’s drinks with an unidentified substance after they arrived. Furthermore, the farm sits in Xamdeboo, a remote Karoo town formerly known as Aberdeen. The women were isolated and far from help. As a result, each woman who arrived found herself alone with a man who had already planned what he intended to do to her.
The convictions cover a wide range of offences. Judge Roberson convicted Lategan of raping three of the women. She acquitted him of raping two others but convicted him of assaulting them instead. She also convicted him on three counts of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm involving children aged 11, 12 and 13. Furthermore, one rape charge involving a girl under 18 fell away. The state conceded the evidence was too weak. As a result, the final conviction list reflects the systematic nature of what Lategan did to the women and children on his farm.
Lategan pleaded not guilty to every charge. He told the court every sexual encounter was consensual. Taking the stand in November 2025, he claimed some of the women slept with him willingly on the night they arrived. He also blamed his ex-wife for orchestrating the charges. Defence lawyer Danie Gouws read court messages in which the ex-wife told one of the women they would win the case. Furthermore, Judge Roberson rejected Lategan’s version and questioned the credibility of his testimony. As a result, his defence of blaming his ex-wife and claiming consent failed completely.
The human cost of Lategan’s crimes is devastating. One of the six complainants allegedly took her own life during the period covered by the charges. Another fell pregnant as a result of what happened on the farm. The women were between 18 and 24 when Lategan targeted them. They were young enough to trust a job offer and isolated enough from their support networks to be vulnerable. Furthermore, the case shows how traffickers exploit unemployment and desperation. They use both to lure victims into abuse. As a result, the Lategan conviction matters as individual justice. It also reminds South Africa of the scale of human trafficking in rural areas.
Lategan remains in custody. The court had not scheduled sentencing at the time of publication.
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