BREAKING | Karoo farmer guilty of drugging and raping au pairs

In a recent legal verdict, Louis Lategan, a 42-year-old Karoo farmer, was found guilty of drugging and raping three of the six young women he hired to care for his children. The Makhanda High Court delivered the judgment on Wednesday. Lategan was also convicted of assaulting the women and three counts of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to children aged 11, 12, and 13. Additionally, he was found guilty of assaulting a farm worker and unlawful possession of ammunition.

The women, aged between 18 and 24, traveled hundreds of kilometers from their homes to Lategan's farm in Xamdeboo, formerly Aberdeen, believing they had been hired to look after his two children. However, state advocate Nickie Turner revealed that Lategan had given them drinks laced with a drug. Upon waking up, they had no recollection of what transpired and found themselves in his bed.

Lategan vehemently denied drugging anyone and claimed that all six women slept with him willingly. Tragically, one of the women took her own life in February 2022, while another gave birth to his child and another experienced a pregnancy loss. The trial initially involved 22 counts against Lategan, but he was acquitted of one additional rape charge involving a minor at the conclusion of the state's case.