Hilton grooming allegations put online safety of young girls in spotlight

In a quiet KwaZulu-Natal town, a disturbing set of allegations has raised questions about how easily young girls can be targeted, groomed and exploited by adults they come to trust.

Former cop turned private investigator Brad Nathanson is issuing a warning over a 31-year-old man allegedly preying on young girls in the province’s peaceful, scenic town of Hilton.

Nathanson said the man allegedly approaches girls at a gym, gains their trust, and then cultivates a relationship with them over social media. 

Nathanson said he has spoken to several women and teenage girls, all of whom share a similar story of being targeted by this man.

Nathanson alleged that at least 48 girls were sent images of the man’s penis or had to watch a video, sent only to be viewed once, of the man ejaculating onto a piece of paper with their names written on it. 

The 15-year-old

Speaking of his latest case, Nathanson said the girl was just 15 when the man first contacted her.

He said during his interview with the teenager, she said she had been chatting to the man for almost a year.

“In that time, he persuaded this child to leave her parents’ home. He arranged to meet her outside the family home, collected her from the verge and took her to his parents’ home,” Nathanson said.

Based on text messages between the two, Nathanson said he was deeply disturbed and repulsed.

“This wasn’t simply a relationship between two people. This was a 31-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl,” he said.

Allegations of previous incidents

“A young girl has lost something she can never get back. Her youth. Her innocence. And a family has been left broken. Meanwhile, the man at the centre of these allegations appears to have continued with his life for years. With little or no consequence. That cannot be allowed to continue,” Nathanson said, adding that the man has allegedly been involved in other incidents in the past, including being expelled from school and later dismissed from his job after his naked images were released.

Nathanson said he had also heard allegations from employees who had worked alongside the man and claimed they had experienced sexual harassment before allegedly being pressured into silence.

Nathanson said he plans to ensure that the man is arrested. 

The lawlibrary.co.za defines sexual grooming as a pattern of behaviour used to gain a victim’s trust, reduce resistance and make it less likely that abuse will be reported or believed. It can also involve manipulating the victim’s friends, family and wider social circle to maintain access to the victim and discourage disclosure.

The bigger picture

This is not an isolated issue. This past week, suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant General Shadrack Sibiya’s alleged relationship with young girls was thrust into the spotlight. He was arrested in September on charges of rape, human trafficking and sexual grooming.

Details emerging during Sibiya’s court appearances revealed a disturbing tale. 

It is alleged that he raped an 18-year-old at a hotel in Sandton on May 16 after she was given alcohol and passed out. 

He is also accused of sexually grooming a 16-year-old girl through WhatsApp between July and August, including allegedly possessing and sharing sexually explicit images of her, and that he allegedly trafficked three people for sexual exploitation. 

Witness statements allege that the girls were plied with alcohol, asked to twerk, and given more alcohol when they refused. One of the girls allegedly eventually passed out.

Over the years, there have been several cases of teachers being accused of sexually grooming learners. 

In April this year, a teacher was sentenced after she was convicted of sending sexual texts and videos to a Grade 7 learner. The former Harvester Primary School teacher received a five-year sentence, wholly suspended, provided that she does not commit the same offence during this time. She was also handed a three-year correctional supervision, a strict community-based sentence that includes monitoring, restrictions, and rehabilitation programmes instead of direct imprisonment.

Sexting and exploitation

Speaking to IOL, Childline KZN Director, Adeshini Naicker, said it is concerning how easily online conversations with children can become sexualised.

“Grooming is often not obvious at the beginning. It can start with attention, compliments, friendship and making a child feel special or understood, before boundaries are gradually pushed. Boys can be victims too. Any child can be groomed, exploited or pressured online,” she said.

“Sexting is another serious concern. A teenager may send a photograph or video thinking it is private, but once that image leaves their phone, they lose control over it. It can be shared, used to threaten or blackmail them, or become a way of pressuring them into sending more,” Naicker explained.

Attorney at Marx and Bernard Attorneys, Amy Bernard, said it is important for parents to educate their youngsters about sextortion.

She added that in the event of someone being in a position where they are being sextorted, they can take legal action.

IOL