FBI BUSTS SA CHILD PORN NET
A Krugersdorp couple who reportedly shared child pornography and explicit fantasies about children in internet chat rooms is flagged by US federal agents. The husband and wife team is out on bail, with a third suspect on the run.
Husband gets R10 000 bail because he is family’s sole breadwinner.
If cyber sleuths from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the US had not tracked down a Krugersdorp couple who were viewing and sharing child porn on the internet, then they would probably still be doing it now, said a local police investigator.
The Americans are constantly monitoring internet chat rooms and groups for illegal activity, such as terrorism and child pornography.
In one group chat monitored by the FBI, explicit child pornography had been shared.
The American investigators tracked the IP address back to the man, whose username was
“Westrandlargeguy”.
In the group chats, they would discuss explicit fantasies they had about children and the husband and wife would also share images and fantasies about child pornography on WhatsApp.
The husband allegedly confirmed his username and e-mail address in cyber conversations with FBI investigators, which led to the couple’s arrest. Two other suspects were also involved, one of whom is still at large.
Naked images of boys, girls and infants were found on the husband’s phone and he had naked images of his stepdaughter that he shared with not only his wife, but others around South Africa.
He would fantasise about his stepdaughter and her child and share these fantasies with his wife and others.
The local police investigating officer, giving evidence in court this week opposing bail for the man, testified that had it not been for the FBI, the couple would probably still be committing these crimes. He also spoke about how the husband had not hesitated to exploit his stepdaughter.
After the husband was arrested, he allegedly made contact with an employee to ask the person to remove certain posts from his social media.
Some of the images depicted explicit sexual acts with infants.
The wife, who was arrested on August 27, was granted bail of R8 500. The husband was arrested on August 20 and only recently got bail.
Their lawyer argued that the husband, who earns R49 000 a month, was the sole breadwinner for the family. Between them, the couple have four children, two of whom are still minors. The couple own a house, a car and have child support to pay.
The husband’s lawyer said that the man would be returning to work in order to support his family and his ill wife.
In court, it was revealed that the wife allegedly told the mother of the man’s two biological children that she would not be getting any more child support from them.
The man will allegedly be pleading not guilty to the charges and said he wanted bail to look after the children and his wife.
The court heard that he was not a flight risk and his passport had been confiscated.
The court said they did not want the children to suffer financially because he was in custody. He was granted bail of R10 000 under strict conditions.
They are that he has to return to work, he is not allowed to leave Krugersdorp without informing the investigating officer, he is not allowed to have a cellphone or be on social media, he has to report to the Krugersdorp police station twice a week and he can have no contact with any witnesses, complainants or any of the children between the couple.
The case was postponed to next month.
– Caxton News Service