Outraged children’s rights activists have called for the prosecution and harsh sentencing of a group of 27 people around SA who have been identified as alleged “online child sexual predators”.
One of the alleged predators appeared in the East London magistrate’s court on Thursday where he was released on R5,000 unopposed bail. He was arrested on March 5.
The man, whose name is being withheld so as to not hinder investigations, appeared before the court dressed in grey and looking nervous before his case was called, occasionally wiping his ears with a tissue.
He faces charges of possession of child pornography, as well as of downloading, viewing and accessing the material.
Police spokesperson Priscilla Naidu said his arrest came as part of an ongoing operation targeting online child sexual predators.
“Hundreds of child pornography images were [allegedly] found on his devices by a forensic investigator.
“During the operation, cellphones, laptops and various storage devices were seized.”
She said he was among 27 suspected online child sexual predators identified in SA in a joint international operation.
“Members of the serial and electronic crime investigations head office [SECI] in the Eastern Cape, together with the department of homeland security investigations of the US Embassy, conducted the takedown operation and arrest on March 5,” Naidu added.
The operation to take down the ring is believed to have started about a year ago.
This was after SA law enforcement authorities were informed of the existence of the group by US law enforcement authorities.
The Daily Dispatch understands that some of the suspects are from other provinces including the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal while another suspect is from Gqeberha.
On Thursday, state prosecutor advocate Vuyokazi Sam told the court the investigation into the matter involved Interpol.Sam said the state still needed time to identify the children in the pictures.
She said there were more people the accused might be linked to and his devices still needed to be analysed.This may lead to more charges being added against the man.
Dee Blackie, from Courage Child Protection and Empowerment, said the existence of such groups was concerning.
“This is not just about people looking at pictures.“It’s actually used as a dangerous tool to force children into sexual slavery and things like that.
“That is really concerning. The fact that they have arrested so many people implies they suspect a syndicate.” He said there were more and more such syndicates operating.
“It’s all good and well for them to arrest individuals, but now they need to follow through and ensure they prosecute those individuals to the full extent of the law so that justice is served to the victims of this crime.”
Children’s rights activist Petros Majola of Khula Community Development welcomed the arrest.
He said perpetrators of crimes like this were known to sometimes “they use children to take those pornographic visuals and also distribute adult pornography to lure them into being sexually active".
He said if the court found the man guilty he hoped for “a very harsh sentence".
“That will send a very strong message to other people who are in this industry.“There’s no country where people can do as they wish and we remain silent.“The members of the SAPS have done so well.
“The whole country needs to take child pornography as seriously as possible.” Advocacy for Women and Men Against Child Abuse head Luke Lamprecht said children who were abused “suffer from traumatic sexualisation”.
It is a “trauma response, and wreaks havoc with later relationships, intimacy and sexual relations”.“They struggle to fit into a normal productive lifestyle.“If a suspect was granted bail, one would have to ask what the bail conditions entail, because their weapon of choice is everywhere.
“They can access their data from anywhere, any device, in the cloud, to carry on their commercial sexual exploitation of children.
“[We] vehemently oppose bail for individuals accused of such heinous offences.”He said people involved in such activities often posed a flight risk.In addition, there was the “ease with which they can continue their predatory activities using modern technology”.
Provincial police commissioner Lt-Gen Nomthetheleli Mene said the arrest of a suspect in a case like this “marks a significant step in our ongoing efforts to protect our community’s most vulnerable members from exploitation and abuse”.“Those who engage in such reprehensible activities will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”The man’s bail conditions are that he must attend court and must report to the East London police station once a week on Saturdays or Sundays.
He must not commit any schedule one or two offences while on bail. He must not partake in or visit any online chat groups or websites pertaining to children.
The draft bail order, which was agreed upon by both the state and defence, further said the man must not interfere with the ongoing investigation until the matter is finalised and must continue to reside at his address.
The case was postponed to May 28 for further investigations.
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