A mother from Brakpan has told the Johannesburg High Court that her co-accused, Heidelberg lawyer Carel Schoeman, tried to bribe her into taking all the blame for their alleged crimes involving the sexual exploitation of her minor daughters.
Testifying under cross-examination on Thursday, the woman — whose identity is protected to safeguard her children — said Schoeman visited her in the Palm Ridge court cells in 2024, just before they entered pleas. She claimed he offered financial support for her children if she shouldered full responsibility.
Brakpan mother details alleged bribe offer from co-accused
The Brakpan mother testified that Schoeman, also known as Callie, made the offer during the visit with his then legal representative.
“It was just before we had to plead. Callie told me he would take care of my children financially if I took the blame for the whole thing. I said I would think about it,”
she told the court.
She explained that her legal representative, Harold Davids, later advised her she might never see her children again if she pleaded guilty to the more than 70 charges. She therefore pleaded not guilty.
Bible inscription and secret prison contact admitted
The Brakpan mother further claimed that Schoeman wrote his phone number in her Bible during the cell visit. She said the note was meant to allow communication and that she later spoke to him on the first cell phone she had access to in prison.
She admitted the contact took place without her lawyer’s knowledge. When asked why Schoeman would write his number in the Bible, she replied simply: “To communicate with me.”
Fiancé’s WhatsApp message and defence response
message the mother’s fiancé sent to Schoeman. The message included a photo of a letter the mother wrote in 2023, which was only forwarded in September 2025.
In the letter, she urged her fiancé to contact “Callie” and say an investigating officer wanted her to tell the court her daughter was telling the truth about him. She indicated that if Schoeman helped her, she would not take the five years “they promised,” but implied consequences if he did not.
Kriel suggested the message amounted to a possible threat linking financial assistance to her testimony. The mother responded that Schoeman “knows what he did, but still doesn’t want to admit it,” while she has admitted her own actions were wrong.
Kriel informed the court that Schoeman denies the bribery allegations.
“He’s lying, like he always does,”
the mother replied.
She described Schoeman as “manipulative and not a good person” and “black and white” involved in the matter.
“He knew what he was doing was wrong. He is a man of the law. He knows what is wrong,”
she said.
The court heard that Schoeman provided R2 000 for the mother’s bail last year, although she has remained in custody since her arrest in March 2023.
Case background
The mother faces charges of rape, sexual exploitation of children, human trafficking, possession and production of child pornography, and child neglect, among others. She allegedly rented out two of her minor daughters for sex and tried to “sell” the eldest to Schoeman. She has admitted in court that she has been involved in sex work since she was 13.
The trial continues in the Johannesburg High Court.
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