A librarian from the northern areas who lured young boys to his home has been found guilty of sexually assaulting them.
The Gqeberha regional court convicted Romano Hendricks, 37, on Thursday of eight charges including statutory rape, sexual exploitation of children and grooming.
At the start of his trial in October 2021, Hendricks pleaded not guilty claiming that the two teenage boys, aged 13 and 14 at the time, had never been to his Bethelsdorp home where the offences were alleged to have taken place.
The court dismissed Hendricks’s claims that the boys wanted to blackmail him before charges were laid against him.
In his testimony, he admitted he had previously been accused of sex acts against a 14-year-old while he lived in Arcadia.
While exact details of the previous matter remain unclear, it is alleged Hendricks used the same modus operandi but was later acquitted on all charges.
Hendricks told the court he had been “close friends” with the mother of one of victims and that he had spoken to her, at length, about the previous case he was involved in.
According to Hendricks, the mother had believed he was innocent.
Hendricks claimed the woman’s child may have overheard their discussions as they would regularly visit each other’s homes while he still lived in Arcadia.
After his move to Fern Park in Bethelsdorp, Hendricks said he and the mother lost touch.
During the trial, it later emerged that both the boys had heard rumours that they would get money from Hendricks if he could do what he liked with them.
They both testified that they were never hurt or threatened by Hendricks.
It was found that on separate occasions during 2019, the teens had visited Hendricks’s house, where he would expose them to pornography before paying them to perform sex acts.
Sentencing is set for May 18.
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