Social media the playground of pornographers

UNLIKE in the past, when it was difficult to produce pornography, modern technology ensures that the tools – any cellphone with a camera will do – are present in most homes.

And while that same technology makes it easy for people to connect with one another instantly across vast distances, it also helps adults pretend to be children to gain the confidence of young people to be exploited for their sick ends.

However, the producers and purveyors of child pornography are often children themselves, exchanging nude and other compromising pictures without thought for where they might end up, or how they could be used.

Children, being irresponsible and immature, have little thought for consequences, and exchanging nudes is practically de rigueur, with a coded text speak being developed to keep watchful parents in the dark.

Cellphones, computers and tablets are indispensable even for children these days, given their applications in education, but they must be taught to use these with caution and responsibility, and how to safely navigate the social media world: playground of child abusers and pornographers.

Certainly it is the job of the police to prevent and investigate crime, but they cannot be in every home. Parents must therefore step up and parent.

The time for guarded, coy conversations punctuated with winks and innuendo is long past; the current era demands open, honest conversation to make children aware of the perils of the world they live in.

The tendrils of the dark side of the web can reach into any home; parents must ensure their children are able to respond appropriately when this happens.

A FORMER broker from Fish Hoek who was sentenced to 10 years’ jail on child pornography charges has appealed his sentence, saying it was unconstitutional.

Nearly three years after judgment was handed down by the Wynberg Regional Court, convicted child pornography distributor Clinton Calder said the magistrate showed no regard for his constitutional rights by subjecting him to the smoke of tobacco products while in prison.

In a long-drawn out application, Calder addressed the judges about his incarceration at Brandvlei Prison, saying he was sorry for his actions and he suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, the tobacco smoke in prison endangered his life.

The Wynberg Regional Court sentenced Calder after he was convicted of 3 195 counts of possession of child pornography, a count of distributing child pornography, a count of importing child pornography and a count of creating child pornography.

The court suspended two years of the sentence for five years on condition Calder is not convicted of offences in terms of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act and the Films and Publications Act.

Calder conducted his criminal activities from September 23, 2014, to June 7, 2015. He was arrested on August 31, 2015.

Prosecutors advocate Evadne Kortje and advocate Rene Uys told the court

Calder was part of an international child pornography network. Law enforcement officials worldwide traced and exposed peer-to-peer file-sharing child pornography offenders.

In his address, Calder pleaded with High Court judges to reduce his sentence, saying second-hand smoke had caused his health to deteriorate.

He said the magistrate erred when she did not take his health condition into consideration and sentencing him to 10 years’ jail while he was ill was violation of his constitutional rights.

Calder labelled his fellow inmates as inconsiderate, saying they would light cigarettes at all times of the night, adding that he was being “tortured”.

Commenting on the charges, he said being in prison had given him little chance of rehabilitation and at the time of his sentencing experts testified that he was not a paedophile but had a paedophilic disorder.

“I am pleading with the court to consider my health,” he said.

Kortje, told the court the State was opposing the application, saying the magistrate did not err in the judgment and had shown mercy towards Calder.

She said Calder’s arguments that he was not a “hands on” perpetrator of sexual crimes against children were untrue as he not only downloaded the content but made contact with others, actively logged into a website for nearly a year and distributed the images.

Kortje said that while there was no prescribed minimum sentence for child pornography offenders at the time of his sentencing, Calder got off lightly.

Judgment was reserved.