More suspects arrested in connection with online child porn ring

Police have arrested three more people in connection with an online child porn ring.

A man who posed as a teenager to lure underage girls to a chat group where child pornography was distributed and shared is among three child online sexual predators that have been arrested .

The trio were handcuffed in a joint operation by the SAPS Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) unit and the USA Department of Homelands Security in the past week.

This brings the number of child online sexual predators that have been arrested since November to seven.

Police have arrested three more people in connection with an online child porn ring. This brings the number of Child Online Sexual Predators that have been arrested since November to seven. #ChildPorn #OnlineChildPorn #Police @TheCitizen_News pic.twitter.com/D7XZuj6Q3N

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The other four were arrested in November last year. Three were arrested in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal.

Arrests

Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said these arrests form part of an international operation to trace manufacturers, users and distributors of child pornography.

Mathe said the 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 6000 videos of child pornography. He faces a charge of accessing, distributing and possession of child pornography.”

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Mathe said the second suspect was arrested in Kraaifontein.

“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 9 snakes of which three did not have a permit. He is facing charges of possession of illegal firearms and ammunition, possession, distribution and accessing of child pornography,” Mathe said.

Mathe said a 32-year-old man from Mitchell’s Plan was the third suspect to be arrested on Friday.

“He was found to be chatting and luring underage girls on chat group where nude pictures where exchanged.”

Monitoring

Mathe said the suspects appeared before various courts in Worcester, Kraaifontein and Mitchells Plain, where their cases were postponed for further investigation.

The SAPS has called on parents to monitor their children’s devices such as tablets and phones on a daily basis to prevent more children from becoming victims of such criminal activities.

Police have also encouraged parents to install parental software and apps that are able to block harmful content on chats and apps.

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