After Barbara Hogan, Lourens was the next white woman to be convicted of treason after the Treason Trials. Lourens, and her fiancé Carl Niehaus, were found guilty of active participation in the African National Congress (ANC), the planting of bombs, assisting people in fleeing the country and the spreading of pamphlets. Lourens was sentenced to four years imprisonment.
References
‘Soweto’ supplement, The Leader