A 32-year-old man from Mitchell’s Plan, who posed as a teenager to lure underage girls to a chat group, where child pornography was shared, has been arrested. The suspect and two other child online sexual predators were arrested in a joint operation by the SA Police Service Serial (SAPS) and Electronic Crime Investigations unit and the U.S.A. Department of Homeland Security.
The SAPS said the arrests last week bring the number of child online sexual predators arrested since November 2023 to seven.
The police said arrests were a result of an international operation to trace manufacturers, users, and distributors of child pornography.
Last week, three suspects were arrested in Worcester, Kraaifontein, and Mitchell’s Plain.
A 53-year-old man from Worcester was the first to be arrested on Wednesday, (17 January 2024).
He has so far been found with 95 000 images and 6 000 videos of child pornography.
He faces a charge of accessing, distributing, and possession of child pornography.
The second suspect, a 40-year-old man was arrested in Kraaifontein on Thursday, (18 January 2024).
In his possession, he was found with more than 149 000 pictures of child pornography as well as more than 5 000 videos.
He was found in possession of two unlicensed firearms and various calibre of ammunition, as well as nine snakes of which three did not have a permit.
He is facing charges of possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, and possession, distribution, and accessing child pornography.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said all the arrested suspects appeared before various courts in Worcester, Kraaifontein, and Mitchells Plain magistrate courts where their cases were postponed for further investigation.
“This operation would not have been successful without the following role players, the Director of Public Prosecutions of WC, NPA, Cape Nature, and SPCA,” Brigadier Mathe said.
Tips for parents and guardians:
- Monitor the devices and social media accounts of your children to ensure they don’t fall prey to such crime
- Install parental control software and apps that can identify and block harmful content in chats, forms, and other internet communication tools.
- Advise children not to respond to messages or emails from strangers.
- Never upload sexually suggestive images of yourself to the internet.
- Never reveal personal information about yourself, including where you stay or which school you go to, to an online friend.
- Never agree to meet a stranger in private.
- Inform an adult or call 0860010111 to report any incident that makes you feel uncomfortable.
