A wealthy Cape Town couple facing charges of rape, human trafficking and drug possession have revealed what they say is an employment contract agreed to by their accuser, in which the wife stipulates the woman must sleep with her husband, keep fit and be “1,000% discreet”.
The couple claim the young woman accepted the six-month “sex contract”, which forbade her from taking part in threesomes or lesbian sex and offered a “salary” of more than R100,000 a month in foreign currency on top of her pay as their au pair.
The contract was submitted to a bail hearing at the Atlantis magistrate’s court, which also heard the young woman had ties to alleged underworld boss Mark Lifman, who was shot dead in George two weeks ago.
The Hawks arrested the couple, aged 46 and 38, less than a month ago at their luxury home. Their identities cannot be disclosed to protect their minor children — one of whom is an alleged victim of sexual abuse.
During this week’s court appearance an e-mail allegedly drafted by the wife in June, which outlined the terms of the “additional contract” to “aid in your personal growth”, was read into the record. It started by thanking the au pair for her “invested efforts thus far to manage multiple elements within our family office”.
The contract required the au pair to ‘learn to be intimate with a man’, have ‘sex with [the husband] if he chooses to’, and not have ‘sex with anyone else especially based on demographic conversations already covered’
“With the ‘sudden’ changes we have had to make some adjustments in our personal set-up,” it read, without explaining what these changes were.
The main purpose of the woman’s new role was to “‘look after’ the caretaker and protector and him only”.
The contract required the au pair to “learn to be intimate with a man”, have “sex with [the husband] if he chooses to”, and not have “sex with anyone else especially based on demographic conversations already covered”. The au pair was to pay attention to her appearance and go to a gym at least five times a week.
“You will be 1,000% discreet and confidential in all matters,” the e-mail read. “You will be prepared, dressed and prepped by 7.30am during working hours, latest for whatever the diary requires.”
The complainant was required to travel overseas with the couple “at any given time for personal or business reasons”.
The contract offered an additional R110,000 payment as a goodwill gesture to cover the costs of relocation and a breast operation that the au pair had.
“You can choose if you wish to renew or not. We can also terminate at any time,” it read.
An e-mail purportedly written by the au pair accepted the offer and expressed her wish to “grow mentally and physically and put in the effort and return that you guys have also put into me”.
The couple face 15 counts ranging from human trafficking to kidnapping, rape and “compelled self-sexual assault”. The state alleges they recruited the young woman using threats, fraud and deception, and the offences took place between February 22 and September 19.
They are accused of deceiving the complainant into “believing that she would be employed [as] ... professional assistant and operations manager of their company … in Doha, Qatar, where she would work with [the wife] for financial benefit; whereas in truth and in fact she was recruited, transported … to Doha and [Cape Town] as a sex partner under the control of [the couple]".
The husband is accused of raping the au pair in Doha and Cape Town, and he and his wife are charged with having threatened to kill the au pair and with attempting to kill one of their own children.
They are also accused of sexually grooming a child by repeatedly telling their daughter “she has the devil inside her that they can only remove” it by a form of sexual assault. They allegedly neglected the child and abused her by “forcefully holding her by the throat”.
They also face other counts related to possession of coca leaf and cocaine.
The husband denied the allegations during their bail hearing and submitted an affidavit by a business partner saying the au pair was never held against her will and travelled freely.
The complainant’s sister, who also works for the couple, told the court she believed her sister had laid the charges out of anger at having been fired.
On the husband’s version of events, the au pair agreed to the sex contract of her own free will.
The court heard that the au pair had claimed to know Lifman, and on one occasion told the husband that someone overseas had asked Lifman to kidnap the couple’s children. The husband said he would give further evidence about the Lifman connection later in the case.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the couple were involved in businesses worth millions of dollars. “This case started with ... an arrest by the Hawks of a couple on charges which included the rape of minors. At first appearance, there were four counts they faced but more charges were added which brought it to the 15 they face now,” said Ntabazalila.
“They are a rich couple who owned horses, fly in and out of Cape Town to places like [the Gulf], Paris, Spain, Lisbon, London. They mix with very powerful people including a sheikh.”
The couple’s children were placed in the care of the state after their arrest. The bail hearing resumes on Thursday.
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