‘Kingpin’ gets 15 years in child porn case
THE KINGPIN in an international child porn ring was sentenced to 15 years behind bars after he was found with 18 644 images of child porn in his possession.
William Beale was sentenced yesterday in the Thembalethu Regional Court in George. Beale was bust three years ago after an intercontinental investigation, dubbed Cloud 9, between South African police and investigators in the Netherlands. The local investigation led to arrests in places such as Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Midrand.
Beale, 39, from Plettenberg Bay, pleaded guilty to all charges against him. Following his arrest in January he was released on R10 000 bail and relocated to Kimberley where he lived with his brother.
During earlier court proceedings, it was revealed that Beale suffered from paraphilia which is an abnormal sexual desire. He said he had a troubled past as his mother was an alcoholic and his father died at a young age.
After school he lived on the street and depended on stealing food to make ends meet. He used substances such as mandrax, dagga and opioids which produces an effect similar to morphine.
Magistrate Eugenia Jacobs noted the seriousness of the crimes depicted in the images, stating that children’s best interests were of utmost importance and the images were full of voiceless victims, many who couldn’t even walk yet. Women and Men Against Child Abuse have been monitoring Beale’s case.
“Society has an obligation to protect children. It is enshrined in the constitution and Bill of Rights. They should be free from physical, mental, emotional, spiritual or moral harm, maltreatment, neglect, abuse or degradation. The 900 plus children in these images were denied these most basic of rights and magistrate Eugenia Jacobs acknowledged that,” Joanne Barrett, advocacy manager and Western Cape spokesperson said. –