A WESTERN Cape man has been sentenced to a total of 195 years in the Paarl Regional Court for making child pornography with his own children.
The 27-year-old was found guilty on two counts of trafficking in persons for online exploitation, four counts of rape of two minor children, three counts of using children for or benefiting from child pornography, 629 counts of possession of child pornography, three counts of unlawful and intentional distribution of child pornography, and three counts of child abuse.
The court sentenced the accused to a total of 195 years but ordered most of the sentences to run concurrently.
The affected children include two girls aged six, another girl aged four, and a one-year-old boy.
Western Cape spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Eric Ntabazalila said the matter did not go to trial.
Ntabazalila explains: “The State and the accused, to facilitate the children from secondary victimisation, finalised the matter by way of a plea and sentencing agreement.”
The stay-at-home dad created child pornography for financial gain. At the time, the conversion rate was $18 to the Rand.
He was arrested after an online undercover Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Task Force Officer acted as the administrative user of the sharing social media application forwarded the information to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for further investigation on 22 December 2022.
He was arrested on 30 May 2023, and police seized his cellphone, which he used to commit the crimes against his kids.