State says it has finalised investigation into couple facing charges of possession of child pornography

Darren Wilken (35) and his girlfriend, Tiona Moodley (25) who face charges related to the possession of child pornography, returned to the Randburg Magistrates Court on Tuesday, where their matter was postponed to October 22 for further investigation.

Moodley, however will return to court on October 9, for the appeal application related to her bail.

It was revealed in court that Moodley is set to approach the High Court to appeal the decision not to grant her bail, with the State indicating that this application was received on Monday. 

The court indicated that the postponement was to allow the Director of Public Prosecutions time to decide on their application to oppose Moodley's appeal.

With the court having previously denied bail to the accused, the pair was remanded in custody until their next court appearance next month.

"Your matter has then been postponed to the 22nd of October this year. You are to return to court on the 9th, it will be for the outcome of the appeal application by the second accused (Moodley) in this matter. Bail has been previously denied, and both of you will remain in custody until then," the Magistrate stated.

The pair face 24 charges, including money laundering, possession and distribution of child pornography, and contravention of the Drug Trafficking Act, after a probe by a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and police late last year.

In March, the state indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that the accused, Wilken and his girlfriend had 39 terabytes of CSAM and it took over 40 days to analyse the images. They are also facing charges of money laundering that require further investigation.

On Tuesday, the State told the court that it had completed its investigations and was now set to finalise the charge sheet.

"The investigations in this matter are complete, and the state is busy preparing the indictment. The indictment is quite a lengthy one, due to the severity of the charges and the number of charges that the accused will be facing," the state prosecutor said.

During their previous court appearance, it was revealed that Wilken had allegedly earned over R3 million through illicit activities between 2023 and 2024, while Moodley is reported to have received R1.5 million.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za