The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has secured the conviction of 42-year-old Xamdeboo farmer Louis Stephanus Lategan on multiple charges of human trafficking, rape and assault at the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda.
Lategan was convicted on six counts of trafficking in persons, five counts of rape, assault, assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to children and unlawful possession of more than 200 rounds of ammunition.
The charges stem from offences committed between 2020 and 2023, when Lategan allegedly lured young women aged between 18 and 21 to his remote farm with promises of au pair employment, drugged them and raped them.
The court also heard evidence of physical abuse of farm workers, including assaults with broomsticks and sjamboks, kicking and pushing victims into water.
The trial lasted more than 18 months, with Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Nickie Turner leading evidence from 24 witnesses. Lategan was acquitted on one rape count after the child complainant did not testify.
The matter has been postponed to Monday, 21 September 2026, for sentencing proceedings.
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