Cape Town - A paedophile convicted on thousands of charges of possession of child pornography will be sentenced in George on Tuesday.
William Beale faced 18 644 charges of possession of child pornography and will be sentenced in the Thembalethu Regional Court.
The case has been going on for three years. Beale was arrested on January 13, 2015 as part of an international police operation to clamp down on a child pornography.
The investigation, dubbed Cloud 9, has led to arrests in Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Midrand.
Beale, from Plettenberg Bay, pleaded guilty to all charges. Following his arrest he was released on R10 000 bail and relocated to Kimberley where he lived with his brother.
During court proceedings, it was revealed that Beale, 39, suffered from paraphilia - abnormal sexual desire. He also had a troubled past.
It was also revealed that after he completed school Beale lived on the street and depended on stealing food and other essentials to survive. He used substances such as mandrax, dagga and opioids.
Beale admitted that he had urophilic interests - sexual pleasure from the sight of, or thought of urination - developed at the age of 11.
Women And Men Against Child Abuse has been monitoring Beale’s case.
"Each of the 18 644 images is a crime scene of a child being brutally violated," said director Amanda Jordan-Friedmann.