FBI busts Krugersdorp couple for child porn
A local couple who have been arrested of unlawful possession and distribution of child pornography appeared in court on Thursday, and have been granted bail.
After the husband was arrested, he allegedly made contact with an employee to ask the person to remove certain posts from his social media. Image: iStock
A local married couple who were arrested for unlawful possession and distribution of child pornography appeared in the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court again on Thursday, reports Krugersdorp News.
The wife, who was arrested on August 27, was granted bail of R8,500 on condition that she will not leave the province on September 2. The husband was arrested on August 20 and has been in custody ever since.
The case has been postponed a few times and a bail application for the husband was brought in front of the Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
The couple’s lawyer argued that the husband, who earns R49,000 per month, was the sole breadwinner for the family. Between them, the couple have four children, two of whom are still minors. The couple own a house, a car, and have child support to pay.
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The husband’s lawyer said that he would be returning to work in order to support his family and his ill wife.
In court, it was revealed that the wife allegedly told the mother of the man’s two biological children that she would not be getting any more child support from them.
The man will allegedly be pleading not guilty to the charges and said that he wanted bail to look after the children and his wife.
However, the State revealed shocking information regarding the case, and said the husband posed a threat to young children.
According to the investigating officer, they received information from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the United States of America about group chats where explicit child pornography had been shared.
They tracked the IP address back to the man, whose username was ‘Westrandlargeguy’.
In the group chats, they would discuss explicit fantasies they had about children, and the husband and wife would also share images and fantasies about child pornography on WhatsApp.
The husband allegedly confirmed his username and email address, which led to the couple’s arrest. Two other suspects were also involved, one of whom is still at large.
Naked images of boys, girls and infants were found on his phone, and he had naked images of his stepdaughter that he shared with not only his wife but others around South Africa as well. He would also fantasise about his stepdaughter and her child, and share these fantasies with his wife and others.
After the husband was arrested, he allegedly made contact with an employee to ask the person to remove certain posts from his social media.
Some of the images depicted explicit sexual acts with infants.
The court heard that he was not a flight risk and his passport had been confiscated.
The investigating officer testified that had it not been for the FBI, the couple would probably still be committing these crimes. He also spoke about how the husband had not hesitated to exploit his stepdaughter.
The court said that they did not want the children to suffer financially because he was in custody. He was granted bail of R10,000 under strict bail conditions.
His bail conditions are that he has to return to work, he is not allowed to leave Krugersdorp without informing the investigating officer, he is not allowed to have a cellphone or be on social media, he has to report to the Krugersdorp police station twice a week, and he can have no contact with any witnesses, complainants or any of the children between the couple.
The case was postponed to early December when both the husband and wife will appear again.
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