A man from Gqeberha who sexually harassed female estate agents from across the country via WhatsApp has been sentenced to six years of direct imprisonment.
Thirty-six-year-old Nicolaas van der Merwe was sentenced in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Wednesday afternoon.
Shortly after his arrest, he pleaded guilty to all 13 charges against him, including exposing adults to lewd sexual acts and indecent exposure.
Van der Merwe would randomly Google the names of estate agents who worked for Property24 and as soon as he had their numbers, he would call them via WhatsApp and perform lewd sexual acts while still on the video call.
His victims ranged in age from 20 to 63.
Van der Merwe, who could be heard softly crying in court, applied for leave to appeal which was denied.
He has been in custody since his arrest in October following a three-month-long investigation.
Police took on the case after the Gauteng Provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigation Unit (SECI) was approached by a private investigator, and a reporter from a mainstream media house, asking for help in tracking down Van der Merwe on behalf of the victims.
Twenty five victims were interviewed with some reporting harassment dating as far back as 2016.
However, only some of the women came forward to lay charges against him.
The court heard how a 47-year-old woman, named on the charge sheet, suffered tremendous stress after she was targeted by Van der Merwe in January 2021.
She is believed to have been with her husband and child when she received the video call, and was then later accused of having an affair before the truth came to light.
Van der Merwe, who is an unemployed father of a nine-year-old boy, was sentenced for offences that took place between September 2020 and July of 2021.
