Paedophile accused Dirk Prinsloo, who skipped bail and fled to Belarus in 2006, is now living in Lithuania, apparently fighting attempts by authorities there to deport him to South Africa.
The Sunday Times contacted Prinsloo, 55, well-known for his relationship with fellow lawyer “Advocate Barbie” — real name Cezanne Visser — in a video call this week.
Prinsloo, a former chair of the Independent Bar Association in Gauteng, said the rape and child-sex case against him in South Africa was “wrongful and unjust”.
“The entire thing is based on a false prosecution against me,” he said. “It has no foundation and I am still reeling from the repercussions, even today.”
Prinsloo and Visser were arrested in 2002 and charged with multiple counts of sexual assault and child pornography. They “sourced” victims by persuading children’s homes to let them take minor teens into their care.
But Prinsloo persuaded a court to let him leave the country while on bail and he never returned, leaving Visser — who earned her nickname due to her breast implants and the skimpy outfits she wore — to take the heat alone.
Her trial mesmerised South Africa, exposing horrific details of their kinky sex life, and how the couple entrapped their victims.
Visser argued she was under the spell of Prinsloo, whom she described as a master manipulator and sexual deviant. She famously testified that in their house “kinky sex was as normal as brushing your teeth”.
In 2010 she was convicted and sentenced to seven years, but released after serving just three.
A year before Visser’s conviction, Prinsloo was arrested in Belarus for trying to rob a bank. He was convicted of theft, assault and attempted robbery and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
At the time, the National Prosecuting Authority said Prinsloo would be deported to South Africa once he had served his sentence, at which stage the trial against him would resume. But that did not happen. He was released in 2018 and some time after that entered neighbouring Lithuania.
Prinsloo this week refused to confirm his whereabouts, but three sources said he was living in a refugee centre in the town of Pabradė after illegally crossing into Lithuania when he was released on parole in Belarus. It is unclear exactly when he did so.
“He was detained for three months by the authorities when he crossed the border. After that he was released into the care of the foreigners’ registration centre. In the centre he has free food and a roof over his head,” one Lithuanian source told the Sunday Times.
“He has fought more than one court battle since he started out. He tried to get asylum and when that failed, he asked the court to declare him a stateless person. This request failed. He is now fighting to prevent our government from deporting him to South Africa.”
The sources said Prinsloo was in a romantic relationship with a Lithuanian woman.
“He has completely taken over her life. During the day he can go where he pleases, but he must be back at the centre by 7pm. Prinsloo spends his days at his girlfriend’s apartment.
“She cooks lovely meals for him every day, but she lives on protein shakes and salads because Dirk likes his women skinny. The woman, a pensioner, has bought him two laptops.”
Another Lithuanian source confirmed seeing Prinsloo and the woman “dozens of times” in the streets of Pabradė.
A third source said: “I live in Pabradė and I know everyone. I saw Prinsloo last [northern] summer in about August for the first time, with the local woman by his side.”
As part of his fight to remain in Lithuania, Prinsloo is claiming that Interpol has “exonerated” him and removed him from its red list. He posted what he claimed was a certificate to this effect on LinkedIn.
Asked about the certificate, Interpol referred the Sunday Times to the South African police, who did not respond.
NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said this week the case against Prinsloo would continue should he return to South Africa.
“Both countries are parties to the European convention on mutual assistance in the prosecution of criminal matters,” Mahanjana said.
“Sexual offences do not prescribe after 20 years ... so if the witnesses are still available and prepared to testify, he can still be prosecuted.”
Asked what the NPA was doing to get Prinsloo back to South Africa, she said: “We will revert with a more detailed response with regards to our efforts of extraditing Mr Prinsloo.”
In the video call, Prinsloo cautioned the Sunday Times against violating his “right to privacy”.
“Even though I am not saying that I am in Lithuania or in their refugee programme, you may not report on or identify any applicant currently in any country’s refugee programme. The process is supposed to be completely anonymous.
“This is an invasion of privacy. I have a right to privacy, and you have no right to ask me these questions.”
He said he did not see himself as a fugitive from justice, but as a victim. “I am the victim of a wrongful and unjust prosecution.”
Asked about Visser’s conviction, he said: “The defence she chose was what sank her case. There are material differences in the charges and our defences. She should never have been found guilty at all.
“I have already been found guilty in a trial by mass media.”
Asked if he would ever voluntarily return to South Africa, he said: “Only if it was possible for a completely neutral judge to hear the case and that is just not possible, so no.”
On his LinkedIn profile, Prinsloo claims he lives in Liechtenstein and is a specialist in “websites, website protection, SEO [search engine optimisation] and graphic design”. He also claims to be a legal consultant experienced in European Court of Human Rights cases, “asylum and international protection cases” and various other legal fields.
The Lithuanian justice department and the foreigners’ registration centre in Pabradė did not respond to requests for comment.
TIMELINE:
- 2002: Advocates Dirk Prinsloo and Cezanne Visser are arrested on a variety of charges including rape, child pornography and fraud.
- 2003: Charges are initially withdrawn but later reinstated and the duo are charged in the high court in Pretoria before they are released on bail.
- 2006: Judge Essop Patel grants Prinsloo permission to go to Russia on a business trip, but he fails to return.
- 2007: Judge Patel dies.
- 2009: On June 10 Prinsloo attempts to rob a bank in Baranovichi (in Belarus) armed with a knife and a plastic pistol. He assaults an elderly woman in the process.
- 2010: In Pretoria, Visser is found guilty and sentenced to seven years in prison. In Belarus, Prinsloo is found guilty and sentenced to 13 years in prison.
- 2013: Visser is released on parole under strict conditions including house arrest.
- 2018: Prinsloo is released on parole; negotiations reportedly take place about extradition.
- Sometime between 2019 and 2024: Prinsloo flees to Lithuania, crossing the border illegally.
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