WHITE RIVER – The principal (46) accused of child pornography appeared in the White River Magistrate’s Court again earlier today.
He was arrested on August 14 and was the first suspect in a massive global investigation into a child pornography ring.
Police had revealed at that time that as many as 50 more people were being investigated regarding an apparent syndicate.
Three more suspects are being investigated by police after a tip-off from a Dutch group called Terre des Hommes.
Lowvelder confirmed with Terre des Hommes that the three were definitely in South Africa and Interpol had received the information they had found.
The group set up a trap on the Internet by creating a computer graphic animated “real looking” 10-year-old girl named “Sweetie”. The group stated they had identified a 1 000 paedophiles worldwide with “Sweetie” in just two months and had handed over the information to Interpol.
National police spokesman, Lt Gen Solomon Makgale, said police could not confirm if any more of these suspects resided in the province.
Prosecutor Ms Elbe Basson said the principal was apparently found in possession of DVDs containing alleged child pornography images. She said police had also seized his laptops. He was released on bail of R1 000.
