The South African Police Service (SAPS) on Friday said it “welcomed yesterday’s conviction by the Bloemfontein High Court of a Free State man for rape of and sexual assault on minors, possession, manufacturing and distribution of child pornographyâ€.
SAPS said the 39-year-old man, whose full names cannot be disclosed in order to protect the identity of his victims, was arrested by a specially-assembled team of detectives from the police’s Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit in Gauteng.
“He was first arrested in 2014 after the Canadian police managed to trace the IP address of someone sharing sexually explicit images of minors with other overseas-based paedophiles, to South Africa. The SAPS picked up the investigation and eventually managed to locate the suspect to an address in the Free State,†said Brigadier Selvy Mohlala.
“Shocking details of how the suspect abused these minors emerged during the interviewing of the victims, two of whom are his own daughters.
“He was found guilty on 933 charges levelled against him. These include conviction for 37 counts of rape, 18 counts of sexual assault, 541 counts of possession of child pornography, 108 counts of distribution of child pornography and 228 counts of manufacturing of child pornography,†said Mohlala.
The man is in custody. He will be sentenced in the first week of November.
– African News Agency (ANA)
