Man sentenced to 10 years in jail after putting baby against ice in freezer

A man has been found guilty of assault after pushing a six-week-old baby against the dry ice in his freezer.

On Wednesday Judge Papi Masopa, in the North Gauteng High court in Pretoria, sentenced Gerhard Viljoen to 10 years behind bars, of which two years were suspended for five years.

The incident reportedly occurred in October 2020, where the accused inflicted several injuries to his ex-girlfriend’s baby by repeatedly hitting him all over his body with his hand and a spatula.

Viljoen plead guilty to the charges and entered a plea agreement with the state. The case was initially struck of the roll by the Brits Magistrate’s Court.

AfriForum’s private prosecution unit then got involved. They made representations to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), stating that they wanted to prosecute Viljoen privately. The DPP decided to transfer the case to the high court.

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Natasha Venter who is an advisor at the AfriForum’s private prosecution unit, said Viljoen admitted to previously hitting the baby with his fist while attempting to hit the baby’s mother.

While the mother attempted to shield her baby by kneeling over it, he still hit her. The legal document completed by a doctor showed the baby sustained 12 injuries on his body.

According to AfriForum, the NPA is still considering complaints against the baby’s mother because she allegedly admitted to a nursery school teacher that she put her son in a freezer when he cried too much.

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