THREE LIFE TERMS FOR WELL-KNOWN WELKOM LAWYER WHO SEXUALLY ABUSED MINORS

21 October 2025

THREE LIFE TERMS FOR WELL-KNOWN WELKOM LAWYER WHO SEXUALLY ABUSED MINORS

Welkom, Free State – The High Court in Bloemfontein has sentenced Jan Gysbert Maritz (58), a practising lawyer from Dagbreek, Welkom, to three life terms plus 68 years’ imprisonment for 16 counts of serious sexual offences against five minor victims.

Maritz was convicted of Rape (3 counts) – three life terms, Indecent assault (1 count) – 5 years, Sexual grooming (2 counts) – 8 years each, Exposure of pornography to a child (2 counts) – 5 years each, Sexual exploitation of a child (1 count) – 5 years, Production of child pornography (1 count) – 5 years, Sexual assault (5 counts) – 3 years each and Compelled sexual assault (1 count) – 5 years The cumulative sentence totals 68 years, excluding the life terms. The court ordered his name entered into the National Register of Sexual Offenders and Child Protection Register under Section 120 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.

The case emerged on 25 March 2019 when two victims, Maritz’s stepdaughters, disclosed abuse to their mother. Investigations revealed the abuse began in 2007, when the youngest victim was 7, and continued until 2017. The five victims—his two stepdaughters, one niece, and two friends—were all under 14. Maritz groomed them, exposed them to pornography, sexually assaulted and raped three, and recorded some acts, producing child pornography.

During sentencing, Advocate Amanda Bester urged a life sentence, arguing Maritz posed a severe danger to society. She highlighted his betrayal of family trust, his duty as a father figure, and his legal knowledge, which he exploited to abuse vulnerable children, warranting his removal from society.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) welcomes this sentence as a strong statement that justice applies to all, regardless of status. The NPA sends a clear message: no position shields perpetrators from accountability for gender-based violence against children, which strikes at community foundations. The NPA will relentlessly pursue such cases, ensure thorough investigations and prosecutions, and call on communities to report abuse and support law enforcement. This sentence offers justice and closure to victims’ families while removing violent offenders from the streets. Ends

Issued by:

Mojalefa Senokoatsane

NPA Regional Spokesperson

Free State Division

Email: MSenokoatsane@npa.gov.za

Tel: 073 423 3539