Gauteng mother on trial says sex work kept her children fed as court hears conflicting accounts

According to The Citizen, a Gauteng mother on trial told the Gauteng High Court that engaging in sex work helped provide for her family, even as she faces dozens of serious criminal charges and her daughter has given a sharply different account to the court.

Who is on trial and what are the charges?

According to The Citizen, the accused is a 38-year-old woman whose name has been withheld to protect her children’s identities. She faces 72 charges, including rape, human trafficking, kidnapping, child abuse and the creation of child pornography. The charges relate to allegations that she pimped out her two minor daughters and sold one of them to a lawyer.

Mother’s testimony: normalisation and survival

According to The Citizen, the woman has pleaded not guilty, but admitted in court that she helped her then-13-year-old daughter enter the sex trade. During testimony she described an environment in which sex work was normalised within the family and said she felt no shame in using the profession to provide for her children. The accused reportedly clutched a Bible while testifying, which she said her eldest daughter had requested following the arrest.

According to The Citizen, the mother recounted advertising on adult websites and arranging client bookings. She admitted that she and her daughter sometimes accepted appointments together as a “mother-and-daughter” package when business was slow, and acknowledged selling videos of the minor to clients for R300, referring to them as “sexualised material.”

Conflicting testimony from the victim

According to The Citizen, the minor previously testified that her mother forced her into sex work through threats of violence and by withholding contact with her siblings. The girl alleged that the mother kept client payments to buy drugs.

According to The Citizen, the accused admitted to sending angry WhatsApp messages containing threats but denied physically threatening the child. She told the court the money was spent on food, rent and clothing and rejected the claim that all encounters at guesthouses were non-consensual.

Details on bookings and joint appointments

According to The Citizen, the mother accepted that her daughter had seen multiple men, explaining that bookings were managed through a single work phone used by regulars. She also confirmed that at least one joint booking occurred after the daughter was already active in the trade.

Separate case against a lawyer

According to The Citizen, the lawyer Carel Schoeman is accused of buying and repeatedly raping the eldest daughter. Schoeman filed a discharge application under Section 174 of the Criminal Procedure Act, asking the court for a not-guilty verdict after the State finished presenting its evidence. Judge Rian Strydom refused the request, saying evidence exists that could reasonably lead to a conviction.

According to The Citizen, Schoeman originally pleaded not guilty to 26 counts, including rape, human trafficking, kidnapping, sexual exploitation of children and child abuse. He admitted arranging bookings with the child but said she appeared on an adult website as a 19-year-old woman and that he had no reason to suspect she was younger than the age listed on her profile.

Trial status

According to The Citizen, the trial continues as the court weighs extensive evidence and conflicting testimony.