South African paedophile on run traced to UK

A convicted South African paedophile was caught in the United Kingdom this week after he was discovered working as a children’s lifeguard at a resort on the country’s southwest coast.

Dean Carelse, 43, a former boy’s water polo coach in Brisbane, Australia, was found guilty of more than 20 offences that related to the grooming of underage for sex and the possession of exploitative material containing children in 2022.

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Police discovered more than 2 000 child exploitation images and several videos in his home.

Carelse was detained for more than 200 days before he was deported to South Africa, after which he reportedly moved in with his mother in Gqeberha.

But a paperwork delay between South African and Australian police allowed him to travel and he headed north just over a year ago.

He entered the UK, applied for a job at leisure group Butlin’s Resorts’ Minehead property successfully and was appointed as a supervising lifeguard at a splash pool and water park.

There, children over the age of eight are allowed to have fun without adult supervision.

When an ABC Australia investigation traced Carelse to the resort and confronted his employer, the convicted paedophile was immediately fired.

A company spokesperson said Carelse passed his background checks prior to being hired, because he lied on his application.

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The spokesperson also said during his tenure at the company, no complaints had been raised about Carelse’s conduct.

Before settling in Australia, Carelse’s claim to fame was that he was one of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s high school rugby coaches and taught at some of South Africa’s most elite private and public schools, including Grey High School in Gqeberha.

Paedophiles are often drawn to employment or circumstances where they have easy access to children, said psychologist Dr Jonathan Redelinghuys.

“They will consciously or subconsciously insert themselves into situations or environments where there is easy, or less restricted, access to minors,” he added.

Carelse was first outed as a potential exploiter of children when he was caught taking stealth pictures of boys in their swimming trunks.

ALSO READ: Former SA school rugby coach arrested in Australia for child porn

It is not the first time that men who work in education or related areas have been accused of sexually exploiting children. A former teacher who is still close to several schools in South Africa told Saturday Citizen he was aware of several teenage pregnancies that were the consequences of relations between male teachers and female pupils.

A concerned parent last month reported an alleged paedophile ring of teachers. There is presently no supporting evidence to substantiate the claim.

Concern has grown over the growing abuse of minors, with Gert van Rooyen and his lover, Joey Haarhoff, in the late ’80s sparking paedophilia as a prolific social cancer when the pair were accused of kidnapping, molesting and killing at least six teenage girls.

In January last year, two South African men, who both taught at several posh British schools, joined most-wanted lists for a history of sexual exploitation of minors that allegedly stretched back decades.

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Another retired teacher was accused of molesting more than 40 pupils during his career.

“A significant number of paedophiles are heterosexual men,” said Redelinghuys.

“Usually, people direct suspicion at other gender groups first, but it is a misconception. Most of the perpetrators are male and middle-aged.

He said while genetic factors may play a role, paedophiles are usually shaped through the environments that they grew up in, exposure to materials during formative years.

“Should they be victims of abuse themselves, that is usually the cementing factor,” Redelinghuys said.

More information about what Carelse’s immediate future holds is unclear as the story continues to develop.