A man with two previous convictions for paedophilia has been arrested for a third time and charged with the same crime.
The man (42) was arrested in Betania on May 6.
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Police found several devices containing 510 pornographic images of children between the ages of two and 16 years.
The images depicted the children exposing their genitals and engaging in sexual activity with adults, and with each other.
He appeared in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’ s Court on May 7. Bail was denied and he is due in court again on July 29.
The case is being investigated by the provincial Serial Electronic Crime Investigation Unit.
Previous convictions
He was arrested in Port Shepstone in 2006 for the possession of sexual images involving children, and was sentenced to eight years in jail, of which three were suspended.
The charges of child pornography and indecent assault related to crimes committed in East London.
In 2011 he was arrested again when the Family and Child Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit found more than 3 000 images involving children, as well as a quantity of heroin at his home in the Port Shepstone Caravan Park, and at his previous residence in Izotsha.
The pornographic material included photographs of young children, magazines, and DVDs.
Police also seized laptops, memory sticks, a 3G card, printers and children’s underwear.
In February 2012, he was sentenced to five years behind bars after pleading guilty to 673 counts of child pornography.
He moved to Betania when he was released on parole.
New case
On Tuesday last week, Margate detectives arrested a 64-year-old man in the Margate area.
Police spokesman, Sergeant Sibu Ncane said pornographic video footage of children as young as five years was recovered.
The man was charged with being in possession of child pornography and appeared in the Ramsgate Magistrates Court last Thursday.
Bail was denied and the case was postponed to tomorrow (Friday).
Senior public prosecutor, Sohana Moodley said over the past two years the Port Shepstone Regional Court had dealt with several cases of child pornography.
“This type of crime is on the increase and is of great concern,” she said.
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Manager at Child Welfare, South Africa Port Shepstone, Shamitha Ramsuran has called on the Department of Justice to impose harsher sentences on paedophiles, especially repeat offenders.
“Our core function is the protection of children and to safeguard their well-being. We cannot and will not allow our innocent children to be exploited in
this manner.
“We further ask our courts to accord these cases the highest priority in order to improve conviction rates.”
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