Arrogant, remorseless and defiant to the end. That, in a nutshell, sums up the attitude of Fanwell Khumalo, a man who has gone down in South Africa's history as perhaps its worst serial child rapist yet.
Even as he stood on the verge of being permanently removed from society, Khumalo remained stubborn. The overwhelming evidence against him did not matter.
The emotional testimony of girls, some as young as eight, who recounted how he raped them was just part of some big conspiracy by the police and everyone else to have him jailed.
This week, even after being convicted on charges of rape, indecent assault and kidnapping, Khumalo did not see the need to plead for leniency from the court.
"The person judging me will be judged by the Almighty," he said. This elicited an angry response from Judge Max Labe. "Are you referring to me?" he asked.
Khumalo replied in the negative, saying he was referring to the detectives who arrested him.
On Friday Khumalo was given 42 life sentences for 38 rapes and four attempted rapes. He got a further 78 years for 17 indecent assaults; 180 years for kidnapping; eight years for eight robberies; and six months for common assault.
In sentencing Khumalo, Judge Labe did not run out of superlatives to describe him and to justify his removal from society.
The judge described the twice-divorced father of three as a "callous" paedophile who took his victims from busy spots to deserted areas where he raped them. He committed his crimes in daylight.
The judge observed that Khumalo had not shown any remorse, had terrified his victims and had no prospect of rehabilitation.
"You did not acknowledge your criminal actions... You should be removed from society until you will not be able to return. You are a married man with children. It is terrible that a father should have no respect for children. South African society is plagued by pandemic crimes where children are abused. Children are entitled to protection from the indignity you subjected them to.
"The most aggravating factor in this case is that you set out on a deliberate campaign to kidnap and rape them because you were angry with them. You were angry with them because they were better than you," the judge said.
In the run-up to the sentencing, Khumalo insisted the police and the courts had the wrong man. He did not apologise to the families of the little girls whose lives he destroyed, but apologised to the South African taxpayer because the court had "wasted their taxes on trying him, an innocent man".
He did admit the crimes he was charged with were heinous, but insisted the detectives should start from square one and look for the real rapist.
"I want to apologise for wasting taxpayers' money on this (18-month) trial that could have been used for the sick and hungry," he said.
Khumalo described himself as a "good, loving father" who would not have gone out of his way to commit the offences of which he had been convicted. It was correct for the court to sentence the "perpetrator" of these crimes, not "Mr Khumalo".
"I understand that his lordship has found the perpetrator guilty, not Fanwell Khumalo," he said, adding: "It is a pity it's me in the dock."
He said people would one day learn the truth: that the wrong person had been convicted. But who is Khumalo and how did he end up where he is? Was it fate or sheer coincidence that at 42 years of age paedophile Khumalo received 42 life sentences?
On May 10 1962, in a Free State village, the Khumalo family celebrated the arrival of the first of their 14 children. It was a baby boy.
At some time in Khumalo's life things went well. He was a well-known chef who served the who's who of Johannesburg at a trendy restaurant, Iyavava, in Rosebank.
Who knows if Khumalo attacked one of his victims just after serving and charming the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, music legend Hugh Masekela, American R&B singer Kenny Lattimore or French tennis star Yannick Noah? He also served Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Iman, Nina Simone, Salif Keita and Youssou N'Dour.
How did a man known for his charm and soft-spokenness, among other qualities, turn into a monster? Perhaps the best answer is that of Lawrence Williams, a man who used to hang out with Khumalo in Yeoville in the late nineties.
"I think he was a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. He had a split personality and we couldn't see his dark side," Williams said. He said Khumalo was never interested in women. "We'd try and hook him up with some women and he'd just sit and laugh and not have anything to do with it. He'd say he was faithful to his wife."
A victim's mother said she was angry that Khumalo was still not remorseful but showed blatant arrogance and contempt for her family.
Even after sentence, Khumalo maintained he was innocent. "At the end of a dark tunnel there is light," he said, adding that it was a conspiracy against him by the police.
After being sentenced Khumalo was taken back to prison, where he will no doubt continue giving Bible lessons to other inmates. He might not have gone down fighting, but he was defiant to the last.