Cape Town - A ninth arrest has been made as the SAPS continues to crack down on an international child pornography ring.
The arrest follows that of a Fish Hoek man and two other men and a woman in Pretoria last Tuesday.for the alleged possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography.
National police spokesperson Solomon Makgale confirmed that a 22-year-old man from KwaZulu-Natal was arrested at his home in Pennington on Tuesday.
“A laptop was found on which there were thousands of child abuse images and videos,” he said. He added that numerous costumes, panties and dresses for very young girls were also found.
“According to the suspect’s grandmother, with whom he lived, the suspect usually pretended to be a girl and dressed like a girl. He also had numerous toys for girls and a hair piece for a female,” Makgale said.
The man admitted to possessing and distributing child abuse images.
“He admitted that viewing the images and his fetish for dressing up like a girl became an addiction.
Following his arrest, the suspect appeared in the Scottsburgh Magistrate’s Court and was released on R1 000 bail, Makgale said.
Exhibits seized included two iPads, two desktop computers, two external hard drives, one laptop, five cellphones, two SD cards, 80 CDs and a plastic child blow-up doll.
Police officers involved in a probe on child porn, Operation Cloud 9, have now made nine arrests in South Africa this year.
All of the suspects’ Internet Protocol (IP) addresses were traced by Chief Inspector Van Eester, from Belgium.
Van Eester played a role in the arrest of four others earlier this year in Plettenberg Bay, Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth, where material showing newborn babies being abused, raped and murdered was found.
Van Eester also helped the SAPS arrest the man in Fish Hoek and two other men and a woman in Pretoria last Tuesday.
Investigating officer Sergeant Delene Grobler said: “The suspects’ main interest is the rape and sexual abuse of babies.”
A 42-year-old woman and her 56-year-old accomplice appeared in court last week. The third suspect was released due to lack of evidence.
Cape Times