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THREE men have been arrested in Gauteng in connection with the alleged distribution and possession of child pornography.
Police say the trio were arrested in the past week during a take-down operation by the South African Police Service (SAPS) Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) unit in collaboration with the US homelands security department.
The accused are a 63-year-old British citizen, and two South African men, both aged 43.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the suspects were arrested after months of investigation for their alleged involvement in the possession, distribution, manufacturing, accessing and downloading of child pornography.
The British citizen, who was found to be in the country illegally, was arrested in Springs.
“The suspect faces offences related to bestiality where police have seized material of him allegedly having sexual intercourse with a dog,” said Mathe.
She said the other charges are related to child pornography such as possession, distribution, viewing, facilitating the distribution and making available child pornography as well as grooming of a child.
The other suspect was arrested in Benoni.
“The suspect also faces offences relating to child pornography such as possession, distribution, accessing, facilitating the distribution of making child pornography available.”
The third suspect was arrested in Krugersdorp.
Mathe said as a result of these operations, three South African children who were used during the commission of the offences were identified and a dog was saved.
“The operations will continue throughout the country to unravel a network of child sexual predators.”
She said all the accused appeared before the various courts in their districts on Monday and have been remanded in custody awaiting bail.
Explaining the role of the SECI, Mathe said the unit falls under the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Investigations (FCS) unit.
“The unit members are responsible for investigating, tracing and apprehending serial rapists and electronic crimes relating to online child sexual exploitation,” Mathe said.
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