Perth magician allegedly ‘hypnotised’ young boys to comply with sexual abuse
A magician and children’s entertainer who made an appearance on Australia’s Got Talent is accused of ‘hypnotising’ young boys and luring them with magic tricks before sexually abusing them.
Dewald Venter, 29, stands trial this week over 33 counts of child sexual abuse relating to three teenage boys and one teenage girl over a four-year period beginning in 2011.
Dewald VenterCredit: Nine News
On Monday, at Perth’s District Court, state prosecutor Joel Grinceri told the jury Venter allegedly met his first victim online, a Year 8 schoolboy who the court heard was feeling confusion regarding his sexual orientation and went online looking at chat forums.
The boy allegedly connected with Venter, who said he was “looking for experimental fun” before meeting him at a skate park and then driving him to a construction site where he abused him.
The assaults allegedly continued, once in a public toilet, before the boy contacted police.
It was their involvement that led them to discover Venter had allegedly been in an underage relationship with a 15-year-old girl, who he is accused of being intimate with.
Further charges also relate to the assault of two young boys.
Ginceri told the court how on one occasion Venter allegedly procured the boys into sexual encounters by enticing them with magic tricks and purportedly hypnotised one of them into performing sex acts on him.
Venter, who performs under the stage name ‘Ghupi’, has appeared on Australia’s Got Talent, and holds world records for his escape routines.
He also performs at private parties and corporate events and has worked at a summer camp in the USA teaching children magic.
He denies all of the charges put before him, claiming he did not have an intimate relationship with his young girlfriend until she turned 16 and that, although he now refers to himself as bisexual, that he did not have any sexual encounters with men until after 2016.
Dewald Venter denies allegations he sexually abused teenage boys and girls.Credit: Nine News
Defence barrister Tim Stephenson added that the evidence against his client that he hypnotised young boys “beggars belief”.
“Yes, he was a magician,” he said.
“But there was no hypnotism involved.”
Stephenson also alleged someone had used Venter’s stage name online to procure young boys into sexual encounters.
“Mr Venter has never been on that site,” he said, referring to the site used by one of the alleged victims to make contact with Venter.
“Has never had anything to do with it.”
He also told the jury they would have good reason “not to trust” what one of the alleged victims had to say and argued that his client had very distinctive tattoos that the alleged victims had not mentioned, despite asserting they had seen him naked.
He also said some of the evidence against Venter “did not make sense”, including evidence about a car Venter is accused of driving at the time of the alleged offending.
The trial continues.