Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Mothiba
Senior management from Gauteng Provincial Office and Head Office
The Child Pornography Investigating team
Chief Inspector Tim Van Eester from Belgium Police
Members of the media
Good afternoon.
The South African Police Service, working in conjunction with the Belgian Police, has uncovered a child pornography distribution ring operating in South Africa following a lengthy investigation for crimes against persons suspected of the production and/or possession as well as import, export, transport by any means or facilitating these events of pornographic images that depict minors or where minors are being used for these purposes.
A few months ago the investigation team looking into this problem of child pornography came to brief me on the work that they were doing to deal with this scourge. To say that I was shocked it is an understatement. It became very clear to me that we are dealing with a serious type crime which was not regarded as a priority in the past. As a result, resources we not made available and there was no strategic focus.
It is in this regard that I must thank the Provincial Commissioner, General Lesetja Mothiba, for making resources available for the team to conduct investigations countrywide and together with the Head Office team of the FCS providing strategic direction.
The investigating team, which has been looking into these multiple investigations for just over a yearnow, is very dedicated. They have just arrived from KwaZulu-Natal this afternoon but has been has been to many parts of the country, arresting one suspect after another. They have so far arrested 46 men and have identified a further 30 who must still be arrested. Xx suspects have already been convicted and others are still on trial in various courts all over the country.
Child pornography is a form of crime which is not generally spoken about, but is just as repulsive. It is a massive problem – the full extent of which is unknown at this stage- which is quietly stealing our children’s innocence and emotionally scarring them for life.
As I have indicated previously, the exploitation of children by sexual predators through the internet is a huge problem for the police, here in South Africa and abroad. Online child sexual exploitation can easily be committed from across borders. Perpetrators of these crimes can easily creep into our homes and get hold of our children through smart gadgets as well as through widely available social media platforms. The internet, while being one of this century’s best innovations, has become a sort of double-edged sword.
We have called the media here this afternoon as a way of raising public awareness regarding this problem and to mark the end of a two week operation we have been conducting jointly with the Belgium Police on Operation Cloud 9. We are joined here by Chief Inspector Tim Van Ester from Belgium Police.
Thank you
For more information contact:
Brigadier Vish Naidoo
Cell: 082 567 4153
