PE couple linked to child porn ring
Westering home raided in clamp on alleged syndicate involved in violent abuse of babies
NEIGHBOURS of a quiet Port Elizabeth couple watched in stunned disbelief as Belgian and South African police raided their rundown house and confiscated 15 hard drives allegedly containing violent child pornography.
The Westering pair have been linked to an international child pornography ring that distributes shocking footage of the rape, torture and murder of newborns and babies still in nappies.
Investigations into the porn ring led in January to the arrest of a Plettenberg Bay man linked to the same network.
The Westering couple were arrested yesterday following a two-week sting operation.
Belgian and South African police joined forces in January in an investigation named Operation Cloud 9 that aims to apprehend those involved in distributing the pornography that was previously described by a seasoned Belgian policeman as “pure evil”.
Police swooped on the unsuspecting couple’s home at noon yesterday.
The 33-year-old man and his 21-year-old girlfriend sat outside the house as police carried out evidence.
The pair live with the man’s elderly grandmother.
According to police, the young woman is unemployed and the man works on an ad hoc basis doing electronic work.
After a 2½-hour search of the house, a member of the Gauteng Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit said the couple would be arrested and taken to the nearest police station for further questioning.
The international operation came after investigators discovered a “rape-and-kill” file on an obscure online meeting place for paedophiles with violent fetishes.
This led to the arrest of a 37-year-old computer engineer who appeared in the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate’s Court on January 16. The case was postponed to April 22 for further investigation and the man was released on bail.
The Garden Route suspect was tracked down after the arrest of an alleged paedophile in Belgium in October.
A high-ranking police official on the scene yesterday said more arrests were imminent.
“We received information about this particular man from the 37-year-old arrested in Plett,” she said.
“We had been surveying the house for two weeks until we had enough to act on. We confiscated 15 hard drives, CDs, a cellphone and a camera.
“He has been arrested on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography.
“The girlfriend is being arrested for possession of child pornography.
“We are not certain at this stage whether he was manufacturing porn, but we will find out with more investigation.
“The information gathered through this investigation is certain to lead to more arrests relating to this international child pornography ring.”
Belgian police Chief Inspector Tim van Eester said good police work from the joint operation had led to yesterday’s arrests. “We are happy to be working with the South African police – this is an example of good police work both from South Africa and Belgium and illustrates the seriousness of the situation,” Van Eester said.
“It is difficult to determine whether there are more people associated with the porn ring here in Port Elizabeth.
“With more investigation, we will be able to determine that.
“However, [yesterday’s] arrests will definitely lead to more arrests relating to the case as we will be able to link more culprits through the evidence collected here. It is not just an individual, it is a big group involved in this, and each arrest makes us more hopeful of the next.
“But it never stops – there is always someone else. This arrest will save countless children from becoming victims, not just here but all around the world,” Van Eester said.
Westering residents were visibly shocked, covering their mouths in disbelief when they heard the pair were being arrested in connection with child pornography.
One resident said the couple kept to themselves and he had not suspected anything.
“The house and gates are always closed,” he said.
“We thought it was weird but never really gave it a second thought, only to find out they were so quiet because they were behind closed doors [allegedly] watching child porn!
“It is very worrying, considering that my two teenage daughters walk home alone from Westering High every day.
“He could have easily taken them and done who knows what to them.”
Another resident said: “It is fantastic that they are off the streets. I want to applaud the police for nailing this guy.
“It is scary to know that this freak was staying directly opposite us. But I am glad he has been arrested. It’s one less guy we have to worry about.
“I never suspected anything out of the ordinary. The house was always closed but that didn’t make us suspicious.”