Lieutenant-General Koliswa Otola, the police commissioner for the Northern Cape, has welcomed the eight-year sentence imposed on a 45-year-old for possessing child pornographic material.
The De Aar regional court handed down John Henry Meiring’s sentence on Wednesday.
Otola praised Lieutenant-Colonel Marli Strydom for her unwavering efforts, which resulted in the accused’s arrest on February 22 2022, as well as for the conviction and sentencing.
The accused was found to be in possession of child pornographic images by the SA Police Service’s serial and electronic crime investigations (SECI) unit, a specialised unit within family violence, child protection, and sexual offences in the Northern Cape.
The accused’s cellphone and hard drives were seized for investigation purposes. During the analysis of the exhibits, 773 pornographic images of children were found on the devices.
Addressing crimes against women, children, and vulnerable persons remains a top priority for the police in the Northern Cape.
The sentence was imposed after a man who pretended to be a teenager in order to entice minors to a chat group where child pornography was shared and distributed was apprehended by Western Cape police in January.
Joint police operation
He was one of three child predators on the internet that the US Department of Homeland Security and the SECI unit jointly arrested in January.
“The other four were arrested in November. Three were arrested in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal,” said national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe.
“These arrests form part of an international operation to trace manufacturers, users, and distributors of child pornography.”
Mathe said the three suspects arrested in January were nabbed in Worcester, Kraaifontein, and Mitchell’s Plain in the Western Cape.
“A 53-year-old man from Worcester was the first to be arrested on January 17. He was found with 95 000 images and 6 000 videos of child pornography.
“He faces a charge of accessing, distributing, and possessing child pornography,” she said. – SAnews.gov.za
