15 years for child porn
PLETTENBERG computer engineer William Beale has been convicted on 18 644 counts of possession of child pornography and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
Beale, 39, was part of an international syndicate that dealt with child pornography, according to the National Prosecuting Authority.
He was arrested following an international investigation into child pornography by Belgian and South African police.
Appearing before the Thembalethu Regional Court in George, Beale pleaded guilty to the possession of thousands of images of child pornography.
In its heads of arguments, the State said the child sexual abuse material viewed by the court was evidence of the serious abuse that children all over the world suffered.
The defence team had conceded that there was no doubt the crime their client had been found guilty of was serious. However, they had told the court that Beale was “not a burden on society”.
But according to the State, it was clear Beale was not interested in therapeutic intervention as he did not deem it necessary and did not want to admit to being a paedophile.
Images viewed by the court superseded those of even the most evil imagination, argued State prosecutor Gerda Marx. Among them were depictions of babies, toddlers and teenagers of both genders being raped and abused.
She said that in some of the images the fear in the eyes of the victims spoke for itself.
She said Beale would not have disclosed his “heinous criminal activities if he was not arrested”.
“Thousands of children had to suffer rape, torture, abuse in order for the accused to satisfy his paraphilic interests,” Marx had told the court.
“The child abuse depicted in the images includes sexual exploitation, sexual violation and sexual penetration of children that constitutes a violation of their right to privacy, dignity and bodily integrity,” Marx had said.
Yesterday Marx welcomed the sentencing, saying Beale created and contributed to a market where rape, abuse and even murder of children were the order of the day. “Without a market, these children will not be subjected to the abuse and suffering they had to endure in order for Beale to satisfy his urges,” said Marx.
“This is a good sentence and a way forward for South Africa, in our ongoing fight against the sexual and violent abuse of children and to anyone who benefits from the abuse of children.”
Possession of child pornography images is extremely serious in that it creates the market for the abuse of children, she added.
“Possession of child pornography is not a victimless offence. The abuse of a child is relived with every single image being viewed, distributed or possessed. We need to stand firm against any form of abuse against children,” she said.