With more than 13,000 child abuse crimes reported in 2023/24, experts warn that perpetrators often hide in plain sight as teachers, clergy and even parents. Daily Maverick explores who these perpetrators are and whether they can ever be rehabilitated.
Year after year South Africans are inundated with sobering statistics painting a heartbreaking picture of the severity of the scale of crimes committed against children. From murder, to rape and kidnappings, daily newsfeeds are polluted with these disturbing stories.
Childline South Africa has reported receiving more than 500 calls a day related to child abuse and neglect.
In 2023/24, the South African Police Service’s (SAPS) annual crime report revealed that 13,053 crimes against children were reported in that period.
The Teddy Bear Clinic, which provides psychosocial support for victims of child abuse, reportedly sees at least 800 clients a month.
Some of the most high-profile cases of crimes against children in South Africa have shocked the nation, not only for their brutality but because of who the perpetrators are. From mother and father, to teachers and caregivers, these cases expose a disturbing truth: child abuse is rarely committed by strangers.
Instead, it is often hidden in plain sight – behind familiar faces, inside homes, classrooms and churches. These stories force us to confront uncomfortable questions about who abuses children, why they do it and if the justice system in its current form is equipped to stop this from happening.
In a chilling exploration of child abuser psychology, experts set out the diverse yet disturbingly familiar faces of perpetrators, ranging from violent outcasts to charming community leaders, and the burning question of whether cycles of child abuse can be broken.
But, they warn against simplistic profiling and note that even among individuals raised in the same household or with similar backgrounds, only one may go on to commit such crimes. This underscores the intricate and unpredictable interaction between individual characteristics and environmental influences.
Understanding the psychology of child abusers is a complex, often disturbing endeavour.
Dr Marcelle Londt, former head of the Department of Social Work at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) with 43 years’ experience working with victims and perpetrators of sex crimes inside and outside South Africa’s prison system, states firmly:
“There’s no typical profile. They’re a heterogeneous group.” However, her extensive clinical and academic work reveals common characteristics and behavioural patterns that offer a chilling glimpse into the minds behind these crimes.
Rigid religious families
One significant group emerges from “extremely rigid religious families”, presenting a high moral standing while harbouring a dark, clandestine side involving child pornography or child sex workers.
Londt notes the profound cognitive dissonance: “It’s difficult for people to understand, here’s this man of God… yet there’s this dark side to him.” This high religiosity, coupled with a rigid moral ground and shamefulness around psychosexual development, creates a volatile dynamic where secret, illicit behaviours can flourish.
Adverse childhood experiences
Another category comprises individuals from “very chaotic backgrounds,” often marked by “very, very bad experiences, adverse child experiences”. These individuals tend to be more violent, frequently cycling in and out of prison, directing their anger and chaos at society.
“They were born into families where they would not have a hope or a chance of making a good life for themselves,” Londt said, explaining how early life trauma can fuel a cycle of aggression and reoffending.
Perpetrators who pose as ‘nice guys’
Perhaps the most insidious group are the “nice guys”. Londt describes them chillingly: “They look like us. They behave like us. They even smell better than us. And you’ll find them in churches. You’ll find them in leadership.”
These individuals are highly seductive, luring victims into relationships and leaving these victims with a profound sense of guilt, believing they could have prevented the abuse.
These perpetrators’ ability to present as respectable members of society makes them particularly dangerous, since they often go undetected for long periods.
One case of this was in 2016, when convicted paedophile Brian Shofer (58) was found dead in his Lentegeur police station cell after apparently hanging himself with a mattress lining, just days after appearing in court on a rape charge.
Shofer, who had previously been jailed for sexually abusing boys on the Cape Flats, was arrested earlier in the week of his death for allegedly raping a boy over several years, beginning when the victim was 12.
Shofer had worked as a private tutor for children, and was seemingly respected in the community before his atrocities came to light.
The incestor
A specific, deeply disturbing subset is the “incestor”, whom Londt describes as a paedophile “too lazy to go and find his own victims”.
These individuals often target single parents with psychosocial challenges and multiple children, creating opportunities for increased access by encouraging sleepovers for children and their friends.
Londt vividly likens them to “the lion who lays in wait at the water hole, where animals come and drink water”, suggesting a predatory, opportunistic nature built for “choice”.
Empathy deficit, childhood trauma and wounded origins
Beyond these categories, Londt identifies common personality issues and traits across many offenders. While not necessarily psychiatrically ill, they exhibit traits of narcissism, sadism, self-centredness and profound deficits in empathy.
“If you show one of those guys a picture of a burn victim, they will go all out to get support for that victim… You show him a picture of his 10-year-old daughter that was brutally molested, raped by him. He doesn’t share the same empathy for his victim,” she said.
Daily Maverick
