SA baby-porn pervert admits guilt

Child rights activists are hoping for a lengthy prison term for a Plettenberg Bay computer engineer accused of having links to a horrific international baby pornography network.

The 38-year-old man, William Beale, pleaded guilty to more than 18 000 charges of possession and distribution of child pornography in the Knysna Regional Court yesterday. His sentencing is set for April 18.

Beale entered into a plea bargain with the state which saw him plead guilty to 18 644 child pornography charges and a charge of possession of dagga. He was arrested on January 13, 2015 in an international police operation dubbed Cloud Nine. His involvement in the paedophile network was first picked up by Belgian police. He was the first of hundreds of suspects to be arrested both in South Africa and abroad.

Paedophiles with a fetish for the sexual abuse of babies had a cyber meeting place where they could view images that included the torture and murder of newborn babies. When Beale was arrested, police found sections of files containing thousands of videos and violent assaults as well as the internet addresses of more than 300 alleged paedophiles. In court proceedings over the past two years, the state alleged there were more than 179 000 images in question.

Women and Men Against Child Abuse founding director Miranda Friedman said Beale’s arrest was followed by a lengthy joint investigation by Gauteng-based Family Violence Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit commander Heila Niemand and Sergeant Delene Grobler-Koon after a tipoff from Belgian police. – ANA