Convicted paedophile commits suicide in a police cell

Brian Shofer (58), a former primary school teacher, appeared in court last week on a rape charge after he allegedly sexually abused an 18-year-old man. According to police reports, the abuse had been ongoing since the man was 12. 

Shofer was found hanged in the Lentegeur Police Station holding cells in Cape Town’s Mitchells Plain on Friday. It is believed that he used a blanket to hang himself. 

Police are further investigating a diary believed to have belonged to Shofer, in which he allegedly chronicled how he raped young boys over a period of decades. 

According to a source close to Shofer, the diary also contained recollections of how he was sexually molested by his uncle when he was 13. 

Shofer was first jailed on indecent assault charges dating back to 1994. 

He later reoffended after setting up a youth-care facility in Hanover Park, which police believed was a ploy to groom new victims. 

He was rearrested last month after police were alerted to a series of online adverts he had posted on the Gumtree website, offering specialised tuitions to learners in grades two to 11. 

During his court appearance last week, Shofer claimed he was fully rehabilitated, and that parents of the children he was tutoring were fully aware of his prior convictions. 

The Independent Police Investigative Directive’s (Ipid) Robbie Raburabu said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding Shofer’s death.