Welkom child abuser gets three life terms and 653 years in jail

The Welkom child abuse sentence handed down on Monday, 2 November, is among the heaviest a Free State court can impose.

A 37-year-old man was sentenced to three life terms and an additional 653 years in prison.

He had pleaded guilty to 119 charges involving the sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking of three children between 2015 and 2024.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has named him as Christiaan Francisco Fortleza van der Linde.

The Welkom Regional Court, sitting as a designated Sexual Offences Court, sentenced him after he pleaded guilty.

Three life terms: what the court found

The charges included rape of a minor, sexual grooming, sexual assault, child trafficking, kidnapping, attempted murder, sexual exploitation, creating and distributing child sexual abuse material, and defeating the administration of justice.

According to Free State police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thabo Covane, the man exploited positions of trust to gain access to the children.

He abused his first victim over several years, from the age of 12, and later targeted a second child, from the age of 11.

He also manipulated the second child into producing abuse material involving a third child, without that child’s knowledge.

When his crimes were discovered, he kidnapped the second child and tried to kill both her and himself. He also destroyed electronic devices to hide evidence.

The Welkom child abuse sentence in full

The court imposed three life terms for rape of a minor and trafficking in persons.

Additional sentences of between three and 15 years were imposed for the remaining offences.

These terms, totalling 653 years, will run at the same time as the life sentences.

The court also ordered that the man’s name be entered in the National Register for Sex Offenders.

He is barred from working with children, declared unfit to own a firearm and banned from using electronic devices while in prison.

Images still unaccounted for

Police said the victims were left severely traumatised.

Prosecutor Elma van Niekerk told the court the abuse was a sustained, calculated pattern, not an isolated incident.

One concern remains: police said the whereabouts of the abuse material he distributed are still unknown.

That means the victims could continue to be harmed. His guilty pleas spared the children from having to testify.

The investigation was led by Warrant Officer Jessica Saayman of the Welkom Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit.

The case is the latest in a string of serious child abuse cases in Welkom, a goldfields town in the Free State’s Lejweleputswa district.

Warning signs police want parents to know

Covane said abusers often do not use force at first.

Instead, they rely on trust, gifts, attention and secrecy, and may present themselves as family friends, partners or caregivers.

Police urged parents and guardians to:

• monitor children’s online activity
• learn to recognise the signs of grooming
• report suspected abuse immediately, and keep any electronic evidence.

Anyone with information about child sexual abuse can contact their nearest police station, SAPS Crime Stop on 08600 10111, or Childline on 116.

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