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- A man who used his own child while producing pornography has been sentenced in the Gauteng High Court.
- He was arrested two years ago after US authorities picked up his illegal activities on the internet.
- The man told the court he turned to producing child pornography to earn more money after his finances had dwindled.
A man convicted of producing and distributing child pornography has been sentenced to an effective eight years in prison by the Gauteng High Court.
The 41-year-old man, who can’t be named because one of the victims is his own child, was sentenced on Tuesday, after he had earlier pleaded guilty.
He was sentenced to six years for unlawful possession of child pornography, eight years for importing child pornography, eight years for unlawful distribution of child pornography, 12 years for using a child for pornography, 12 years for benefiting from child pornography and another 12 years for furthering the sexual exploitation of a child.
Acting Judge Daniel Mogomotsi, sitting in the High Court in Palm Ridge, ordered the man to serve an effective eight years in jail.
The man participated in these crimes from 2015 until his arrest in 2018.
He was arrested following an joint operation led by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and SAPS investigators.
His actions were first flagged by US Department of Homeland Security officials who noticed his wrongdoing on the internet, after an official flagged an advertisement he had placed on a porn site.
He carried out his operation from 2015 until his arrest in 2018.
An FBI agent bought the video from the man through a porn website.
The officer then informed South African police and they jointly led a search-and-seizure operation during which they found around 280 items of child pornography at his home.
In some of the seized videos, it was found the man had recorded several minors including his own child. His wife was also recorded.
Between 2015 and July 2018, the man created, contributed to, produced and advertised pornographic material involving girls and boys, as well as adult females, including his wife.
The images and videos were stored on his computer.
Some of the material was sold to his clients, with some even demanding more content.
The man claimed that, when he could not sell enough naked photos of adults to earn more money, he then downloaded material showing children from social media.
He claimed he produced child pornography, as his finances had deteriorated.
In one of the videos mentioned in court, a boy was filmed in bed with a female adult, and instructed to an inappropriately touch, fondle and hold the woman while the man recorded the abuse.
