Possible parole, extradition for alleged child abuser Prinsloo
OLD WOUNDS may be opened if Dirk Prinsloo, who is serving a sentence in Belarus, is released from prison and sent home.
Prinsloo was sentenced to an effective 13 years in jail for robbery and related charges in February 2013. He is due for parole soon.
If returned to South Africa, he faces another possible prison term – 11 years ago, he fled the country in the middle of a high-profile sex trial.
His co-accused, Cezanne Visser – better known as “Advocate Barbie” – was sentenced to seven years in jail on sex-related charges in 2010. She was released on parole in August 2013.
Prinsloo is due in court on Monday. If released, he will either be extradited or deported.
“He is due to appear in a Belarusian court on February 20. The court will then rule on his final release date. Officials at our embassy in Minsk will attend the court proceedings,” Nelson Kgwete, spokesperson for the Department of International Relations and Co-operation, said.
“The department has not as yet been approached to work on any aspect of Mr Prinsloo’s possible extradition.”
Justice Ministry spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga also said they had not as yet received any instructions.
Sources have confirmed that there were negotiations for Prinsloo’s return once he is paroled. It was also possible that his sex trial would be reopened, the source said.
The lawyer who represented the two victims, who were aged nine and 15 when they were allegedly sexually abused by Prinsloo in the early 2000s, suggested painful memories would resurface if the trial had to start afresh.
“Both are now married women with children and they have continued with their lives. I have not seen my clients for some time, so I don’t know what their feelings are about Prinsloo returning,” Pieter van R Coetzee said.
The court issued a warrant for Prinsloo’s arrest when he didn’t return from a visit to Russia in 2006. The high court in Pretoria allowed him to spend Christmas abroad, after his application for permission to travel overseas. His bail was increased to R20 000 and the judge believed he didn’t pose a flight risk.
Nothing was heard of Prinsloo for a few years, until he was arrested in Belarus in 2009. This was after he had robbed a bank in Baranovichi. He was also convicted of theft.
Prinsloo was caged during his trial, as he was regarded as a dangerous criminal.
After his sentencing, Visser’s mother, Susan Lemmer, said Prinsloo should never walk free.
Visser blamed her sex-related charges on him, and said her daughter was under his spell. He regarded him at the time as “her God”. According to her mother, Visser was forced to undergo breast augmentation surgery and have his name tattooed on her body.
Evidence revealed during Visser’s trial of their alleged sexual antics involving young children. As Prinsloo did not stand trial in South Africa, these allegations had not yet been proved against him.
A file, which contained pictures of the young children, has been kept guarded. If Prinsloo is returned home, it is expected that this file will be used in court against him.
Legal experts warned that there was no bilateral extradition treaty with Belarus, although it could concede to extradition. It can be expected that Prinsloo will fight this.
Experts added that he knew he faced a prison cell if he returned home, and he had nothing to lose in trying to avoided extradition.