The court has found Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking in connection with Joshlin's disappearance. Image: Kayleen Morgan/Eyewitness News.
(The Post News)– Judge Nathan Erasmus is set to deliver the sentences for Kelly Smith, Jacquen Appollis, and Steveno van Rhyn on Thursday, May 29, following the video testimony from Dr Marcel van der Walt, a human trafficking expert based in Washington DC, on Tuesday.
Van der Watt informed the court that research indicates a rise in human trafficking cases in the country, but the criminal justice system’s response is lagging.
https://www.enca.com/top-stories/watch-sentencing-proceedings-begin-joshlin-kidnapping-trial-27-may-2025
Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn made a brief court appearance in Cape Town on Friday, May 23, and Erasmus formally transferred the case to Saldanha Bay.
The sentencing will conclude the trial, which commenced on March 3, 2024, at the Western Cape High Court in Saldanha Bay, following the convictions of Smith, Appollis, and Van Rhyn for human trafficking and kidnapping related to Joshlin’s disappearance on February 19, 2024.
Joshlin Smith, a girl from Saldanha Bay’s Middelpos Informal Settlement, went missing on February 19, 2024. Despite an ongoing investigation, she remains missing.
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