Dad, 53, in court for child pornography

A TIP-OFF from an undercover agent in the US has led to the arrest of a Malvern father for allegedly being in possession of child pornography.

The businessman, 53, appeared in the Sexual Offences Court, located in the

Durban Magistrate’s Court, on Tuesday.

He was granted R2 000 bail. The accused, who cannot be named until he pleads, was allegedly found with child pornography on his cellphone on Monday.

Captain Nqobile Gwala, a provincial police spokesperson, said that in May the police received information from an undercover agent based in the US about a suspect who was in possession of child pornography and who was distributing it on social media.

She said the Provincial Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit’s serial and electronic crime unit conducted an investigation, and the accused was identified.

Gwala said a search-and-seizure operation was conducted at the man’s home, and a cellphone with three memory sticks was seized.

“The cellphone was analysed at the scene and images of child pornography were found on the device.”

It is not yet known who the alleged victims were.

The media were not allowed in the courtroom during proceedings.

Adeshni Naicker, the director of Childline KZN, said child pornography was increasing in South Africa.

“It has become a global, pervasive crime exacerbated by ever-evolving information and communications technology.”

Naicker said that while many who were in possession of and/or distributed child pornography believed they were sharing it without malicious intent, it had far-reaching implications.

She said that in most cases, the children knew the perpetrators.

“It is often a relative or a family friend. Being violated by a trusted person is an issue from which the child will take years to recover. Images shared can never be fully erased or recovered. They are also often shared years later when the child is an adult, and this leads to secondary trauma.

“Long-term effects also include depression and other mental health issues. The child will feel worthless and have low self-esteem. Very often victims have unhealthy sexuality and are unable to establish or engage in healthy relationships.”

Sarah Hoffman, a social media lawyer and digital wellness expert, said: “We are certainly seeing more and more people being found with child pornography. Also, the law has a wide definition of child pornography. It is not only a naked image of a child, but anything that promotes or stimulates erotic feelings.”

She said that together with child pornography, online grooming and teen sexting was prevalent.

“In terms of online grooming, this is how we often see things play out – a teen may meet someone online, often in a gaming chatroom, or perhaps receives an instant message on Instagram or Snapchat. They start chatting, earn the trust of the victim, and ultimately ask them for private photographs of themselves. We see this on an almost daily basis.

“The difficulty, however, is when the person is unknown, or it is someone you meet online and don’t know much about them, it is really difficult to get identifying information about that person. For example, Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram are reluctant to hand over identifying information of an account holder without a court order, and often these people are overseas and are difficult to track down.”

Hoffman said that in terms of the Films and Publications Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act, anyone who possessed, tried to procure or shared child pornography was guilty of a criminal offence and should be reported to the police.

Kevin Pillay, the chairperson of the Malvern Community Police Forum, said: “It is worrying to hear that a member of the community is alleged to have committed such an offence. It is sad that we are trying to protect our community from criminals, yet we have someone accused of a disturbing crime right under our noses.

“If he is found to be guilty, then he should face the full wrath of the law. The courts need to send out strong messages to people that committing such offences, especially when they involve the most vulnerable members of our community, will not be tolerated.”