Pretoria - The alleged paedophile case involving a Plettenberg Bay man is ready to go trial, the Regional Court in Knysna heard on Wednesday.
Accused William Beale, 37, appeared in court on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography images.
The computer engineer is currently out on R10 000 bail following his arrest in January.
The investigation team, according to police, worked hard to retrieve the images from Beale’s computer which he had deleted.
The state indicated to the Magistrate that the investigation has been completed. The case has been postponed to 14 August 2015 to allow time for copies of the docket and the charge sheet to be submitted to the defence attorney, Carl Jenne.
Beale was one of 41 men arrested for child pornography in South Africa since the launch of a special investigation team last year.
The suspects are still on trial in various courts all over the country while a further 34 suspects have been identified and will soon be arrested.
Police National Commissioner General Riah Phiyega said the investigation team is the tip of the iceberg.
The exploitation of children by sexual predators prowling the internet is a huge problem for the police, Phiyega said, adding that perpetrators of these crimes can easily creep into homes and get hold of children through smart gadgets as well as through widely available social media platforms.
“The SAPS is very serious about dealing with online child sexual exploitation, hence we have been working with other law enforcement agencies all over the world.”
The SAPS is cooperating with organisations like Interpol, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Canadian police and the Belgian police to identify some perpetrators which they will bring to justice.
About 140 suspects all over the world with the same images found in the possession of Beale have been identified since his arrest in January.
Of these 15 have already been arrested.
Beale’s arrest and leads have been sent to the Europol Cyber Crime Centre and other Interpol offices and include countries like Belgium, US, Pakistan, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, The Czech Republic, France, UK, Canada, Algeria, Israel, Brazil, Austria, Mexico, Russia, Denmark, Ireland and Croatia. – SAnews.gov.za
