[imagesource: News24]

Much like Jeffrey Epstein, Paul Kennedy (above), an acting judge and senior advocate in South African courts, allegedly used his position of power to perpetrate heinous sex crimes against minors.

Also like Epstein, Kennedy was accused of being a paedophile, a child molester, and a serial rapist, and was facing charges related to a sex child ring.

Kennedy died by suicide before he faced the music in February this year – yet another similarity with Epstein.

His 53-year-old co-accused, however, will have to face an upcoming trial, per The Citizen. He has been slapped with more than 730 counts of rape, trafficking, sexual assault, child pornography, and the sexual grooming of minors.

The owner of a massage parlour in Sandton is out on bail at the moment and cannot be named yet due to not having pleaded.

After a new amendment was drawn up following Kennedy’s death, largely due to more and more victims coming forward, the State Advocate for the case, Valencia Dube, submitted that the date for the start of the trial be set for January 16, 2023. The date was accepted by Judge Ismail.

Kennedy, together with his co-accused, was part of “one of the biggest child sex rings the country has seen”. That’s according to Miranda Friedman from Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA).

He committed suicide in his Johannesburg home, where a week earlier, the court ordered that both he and his co-accused undergo testing for HIV after one of the alleged victims tested positive for the virus.

The court was about to determine whether charges of attempted murder would be added to Kennedy’s criminal counts.

Watch Eyewitness News draw the comparison between the American sex offender and Kennedy:

[sources:ewn&citizen]