The Grahamstown High Court has again dismissed convicted East London paedophile Bruce Ehrlich’s bid to overturn a correctional service’s decision to revoke his parole.
His previous applications for his freedom have all been dismissed by judges Nomathamsanqa Beshe and Gerald Bloem.
On Friday Judge Murray Lowe upheld the Beshe and Bloem judgments in refusing Ehrlich’s request with costs.
In his concluding remarks Lowe said: “In my view, a careful analysis of the hearing in February 2017 and its continuation on April 6 2017 draws one to reach the same conclusion as was reached by Bloem, as referred to above.
“As in that matter the question to be asked is what is the administrative action that should be reviewed and set aside and if there is none, the application must fail.
“In the circumstances, the application, in its entirety, is dismissed with costs, such costs to include all costs previously reserved.”
Ehrlich, who was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on 14 counts of indecency and assaults on minor boys in 2003, was released on parole in 2010.
He was sent back to prison on April 11 2016, after breaking his parole conditions.
He was found to be playing squash with three or more boys at the Cambridge Sports Club, consuming alcohol and living with two young men aged 21 and 18, and three children aged one, six and 14.
On November 28 2016 the board denied him parole after Ehrlich failed to produce birth certificates for the minor boys he claimed he was “informally fostering”.
The court found that a 31-year-old man was one of the so-called foster children.
Bloem said in his judgment community correction officials often saw minor boys in Ehrlich’s house during their visits.
An investigation by the parole board had also discovered he had left the East London magisterial district in violation of his parole conditions, one of which was to only leave East London without permission from the board.
Ehrlich, currently serving his sentence at the Mdantsane Correctional Centre, took the Correctional Services Department and the Justice Minister to court over the revocation of his parole.
High court dismisses EL paedophile’s parole bid
His previous applications for his freedom have all been dismissed by judges Nomathamsanqa Beshe and Gerald Bloem.
On Friday Judge Murray Lowe upheld the Beshe and Bloem judgments in refusing Ehrlich’s request with costs.
In his concluding remarks Lowe said: “In my view, a careful analysis of the hearing in February 2017 and its continuation on April 6 2017 draws one to reach the same conclusion as was reached by Bloem, as referred to above.
“As in that matter the question to be asked is what is the administrative action that should be reviewed and set aside and if there is none, the application must fail.
“In the circumstances, the application, in its entirety, is dismissed with costs, such costs to include all costs previously reserved.”
Ehrlich, who was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment on 14 counts of indecency and assaults on minor boys in 2003, was released on parole in 2010.
He was sent back to prison on April 11 2016, after breaking his parole conditions.
He was found to be playing squash with three or more boys at the Cambridge Sports Club, consuming alcohol and living with two young men aged 21 and 18, and three children aged one, six and 14.
On November 28 2016 the board denied him parole after Ehrlich failed to produce birth certificates for the minor boys he claimed he was “informally fostering”.
The court found that a 31-year-old man was one of the so-called foster children.
Bloem said in his judgment community correction officials often saw minor boys in Ehrlich’s house during their visits.
An investigation by the parole board had also discovered he had left the East London magisterial district in violation of his parole conditions, one of which was to only leave East London without permission from the board.
Ehrlich, currently serving his sentence at the Mdantsane Correctional Centre, took the Correctional Services Department and the Justice Minister to court over the revocation of his parole.
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