NELSPRUIT – A Barberton couple appeared in court yesterday after they were caught with an alleged explicit pornographic video of their own seven-year-old daughter on a cellphone.
The father (37) and mother (33) – both Afrikaans speaking – appeared in the District Court on charges of possessing, manufacturing, and distributing child pornography as well as grooming for sexual purposes.
Their bail application was postponed to Friday so that they could appoint a legal representative.
The parents were arrested at Cash Converters in Nelspruit at 12:00 on Saturday. The father was in the process of selling a cellphone when a vigilant shop assistant noticed a video of a woman and a little girl apparently performing a strip dance and making explicit gestures.
He immediately contacted Bossies Community Justice’s Mr Jacques Meiring. Meiring said on arrival, the family had gone back to claim their phone back.
“They obviously realised they had forgotten to delete the video.”
The little girl was with the parents and Meiring recognised both her and the mother from the video.
He said while this was happening, he contacted the police’s Family Violence and Sexual Offences unit.
The parents were arrested and the girl was taken to a safe haven.
Police have since seized IT equipment in the couple’s house for their Cyber Unit to retrieve any deleted footage.
A source told Lowvelder that the father had apparently been approached by a man to manufacture pornography of his daughter for the purpose of selling it.
This took place as the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children campaign started in the country on the same day.
According to Child Welfare SA White River operations manager Mr Johan Bosch, the United Nations declared the period from November 25 (International Day for the Eradication of Violence against Women), to December 10 (International Human Rights Day), as the 16 Days of No Violence Against Women across the globe.
“Although the global campaign focuses on violence against women only, South Africa added children to its campaign because of the high incidence of child abuse in the country.”
He said during the 16 days of activism, Child Welfare SA White River, Sabie and Graskop would conduct 30 presentations in various communities. The focus would be on children’s rights and child abuse.
Mark Kinnear, Deputy Editor of Lowvelder, elaborates on the reason why the publication conceals the suspects’ names.
