Westering couple appear on baby and child pornography charges
INFORMATION gathered after a Port Elizabeth couple’s arrest in connection with an international child pornography ring has led to more than 80 new investigations being opened across the world, with 10 more arrests being made.
The couple from Westering – a 33-year-old man and his 22-year-old girlfriend – were arrested last month after their home was raided and police confiscated 15 hard drives, CDs, a camera and a cellphone, all allegedly containing child pornography.
The couple, who cannot be named until they plead at their trial, are believed to be part of the same network connected to a 37-year-old Plettenberg Bay computer engineer who was arrested in January.
The couple were released on bail of R5 000 each.
The international network they allegedly form part of is used to distribute footage and pictures of babies and newborns, still in nappies, being raped, tortured and murdered.
The tall, thin, blonde man, wearing a grey-hooded top stood next to his short girlfriend. She also wore a hooded top and, after their brief court appearance they pulled the hoods low over their faces, trying to hide from photographers and activists who had gathered outside. “You do not know the whole story, but I am sure you are dying to know.
“The media is blowing this whole out of proportion,” the accused said. Attempts to hide their faces proved difficult when their car would not start and they needed a push before they could drive off.
In the meantime, investigating officer Lieutenant Colonel Heila Niemand, from the Gauteng provincial Family Violence, Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Unit, said international cooperation was key if they wanted to shut down pornography rings like this one.
“Thanks to the Belgian police we were able to arrest the Plettenberg Bay suspect, and that eventually led us to Port Elizabeth and this couple from Westering.
“We have been working very closely with our police counterparts across the world and, since the Westering arrest, 81 more leads have been followed up internationally,” Niemand said after the couple’s court appearance.
“The difficulty with crimes like these is that they do not occur in full view of the public, but occur in people’s homes. So when we find instances like this we rely on our colleagues abroad to scour their networks for similar incidents.”
A small group of activists from Women And Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), who also follow the Plettenberg Bay case closely, gathered outside the court with posters asking for harsh punishment for offences against children.
WMACA spokeswoman for the Plettenberg Bay region Yvette Wilschut said: “Looking at these images and being in possession is bad enough, but people need to realise that someone had to produce these images and real babies had to suffer.
“The crime should be renamed. This is not the production of child pornography, this is the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of children.”
This is not the production of child pornography, this is the rape, torture, mutilation and murder of innocent children