Child porn peddler gets 15 years Khris out-boots his hero to grab Guinness World Record
ROBERT de Vries, the man believed to have spent 20 years distributing large amounts of child pornography across the globe from his Johannesburg home, has been sentenced to an effective 15 years behind bars.
The sentencing has also attracted the attention of the US Department of Homeland Security, as US agents were the ones who caught De Vries trying to peddle his wares to US citizens.
De Vries, 57, was convicted last week on 107 charges of distribution, manufacturing and possession of child pornography at the Johannesburg High Court, after eight years of court proceedings and investigation. While he initially applied to have his bail extended pending his sentencing proceedings this week, this was denied after new images of child pornography were found on his computer and hard drives during a police raid.
He was caught in 2010 by US government agents distributing more than 296 000 images, stories and videos of under-age children in compromising positions.
However, it took years before the court found him to be definitively linked to the pornography. Throughout his trial, De Vries shifted the blame to a series of room-mates who had been living at his home during the time-frames when he was most active in his distribution.
However, Judge Colin Lamont found this claim of a conspiracy against De Vries to be unbelievable, considering the amount of evidence provided by State investigators linking him to the porn and its distribution.
During sentencing arguments earlier this week, State prosecutor, advocate Maro Papachristoforou, brought child abuse expert Dr Shaheda Omar to the stand to explain the potentially disastrous side-effects that child pornography distribution could cause.
Omar said as child pornography made its way into the hands of paedophiles, it desensitised them.
The subliminal message sent out to the paedophile was that sexual acts with children were fine, as they are normalised by the images. The children used to create the pornography would be left with unimaginably deep emotional scars.
Papachristoforou argued that the court needed to give a harsh sentence to De Vries to fall in line with global standards of sentencing for such crimes. However, Judge Lamont was seemingly angered by this argument, saying he would “not be intimidated” by foreign jurisdiction.
Gesturing to the group of US embassy officials in the court gallery, the prosecutor argued that if the sentence was not strong enough, similar cases involving foreign countries would likely see the accused extradited and prosecuted overseas.
But Judge Lamont was also unwilling to listen to this argument, saying that this could be a good thing, as local authorities would not have to deal with such criminals.
The judge questioned both prosecution and defence on what they believed was an appropriate sentence for De Vries, as there was no definitive minimum sentence for the charges in South African legislation.
Papachristoforou suggested 25 to 30 years based on the seriousness of the charges and their number, but defence advocate Norman Makhubela asked the judge to consider De Vries’s age, suggesting 10 years.
Yesterday, Judge Lamont sentenced De Vries to 835 years in prison based on the sheer number of counts, but that most of the dozens of 15-year sentences would run concurrently, meaning an effective 15 years in prison.
The judge ‘would not be intimidated’ by foreign laws
EVERTON midfielder Theo Walcott used to be able to say he held a Guinness World Record for his first touch.
Not any longer. The star English player had his title stolen by a South African.
With the help of Heineken, local freestyle player Khris Njokwana this week broke the Guinness World Record for the highest altitude football dropped and controlled.
At Johannesburg Stadium, a crane dropped a ball from a height of 37.4m, with the Capetonian controlling the ball before making a minimum of five touches (as per the rules) before it touched the ground.
It took him three attempts, failing on the first two, but Njokwana’s new record beat Walcott’s by 3.4m as he wrote his name in the record books.
Njokwana said it felt “unreal” being able to beat a record held by a player he admired all his life.
“I’ve always seen him as one of my footballing icons, so to break a record held by Walcott is something else,” he said.
The well-known freestyle player had doubts, especially after he failed on his first two attempts.
“The week leading up to the world record attempt I was confident and pumped up.
“On the day, I had my doubts, especially after the second attempt. It was dramatic and very emotional.”
It took weeks of intense preparation.
“Heineken South Africa provided me with a clear set of rules, as the expectations set out by the world record organisation are stringent.
“They were intricate and placed additional stress on me. It was also hard to fully prepare for it as I was based in Cape Town and it’s difficult to gain access to skyscrapers to train for the record.”
Altitude was also a factor. “Each time the ball dropped, it dropped with a different velocity. It came down like a ton of bricks on my thigh. I was icing my legs for days after,” he laughed.
Former Everton player Steven Pienaar encouraged him throughout his attempt.
“He is a football legend so it was an honour. It was nerve-racking, so a big thanks to him for encouraging me and not putting pressure on me.”
Pienaar was impressed by the feat. “A soccer ball is hard enough to control when dropped from 2m or 3m high, but 37.4m is a whole new level,” he said.
Njokwana was thrilled to have brought some positivity.
“I’m proud of myself, my community and the network of people that I represent.”