Darren Wilken and Tiona Megan Moodley appear at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on 3 February 2025. Picture: Nigel Sibanda / The Citizen
The state has revealed how much Darren Wilken and his 25-year-old girlfriend allegedly earned from operating a website selling child pornography.
The bail applications of Wilken and Tiona Moodley were heard at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng on Monday.
The accused face charges for possessing and distributing child pornography, and at least 24 counts of money laundering.
Wilken was arrested on 17 January during a search-and-seizure operation at his Midrand residence in Gauteng.
Moodley was apprehended days later in Houghton, Johannesburg, on 23 January.
Their arrests followed the discovery of over 10 million images and videos of child pornography at Wilken’s home during the operation.
Electronic devices containing child sexual abuse material, along with drugs and cash, were seized, according to the South African Police Service (Saps).
Opposing their release on bail, prosecutor Colleen Ryan read an affidavit from investigating officer Hendrikus Johannes Boshoff, which revealed that the case against Wilken originated from a sextortion complaint filed by an underage girl in the United States (US).
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the matter, ultimately tracing it to a website named Dankmegaz, which is allegedly owned and operated by Wilken.
“On the said website listed under ‘Our Spicy Gallery’, several photographs were found of naked, very young children as well as those of young teenage girls, of which the images were up for sale once the website was accessed,” Boshoff said.
The police officer indicated that securitised identity records and an email address directly linked the website to the accused.
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Boshoff also highlighted that Wilken had previously faced public backlash in April 2016 after posting a controversial comment on social media about raping Indian women, which led to his dismissal by his employer.
The post read: “I will go rape every Indian woman I see. Then after 12 hours I’ll hit them up with a message like, last night was fun, we should do it again some time.”
He further explained the challenges faced during the investigation, pointing out that Wilken was difficult to trace.
“The assistance of international agencies was therefore vital for the successful arrest and prosecution of said persons.
“Five addresses were visited by the investigating officers. Four of the five addresses were false addresses and only the fifth address was confirmed where the applicant was residing at the time of his arrest.”
Boshoff stated that Moodley, who claimed to be unemployed and financially dependent on Wilken in her bail application, played a significant role in operating the business.
“Her electronic devices were seized, where it was clear that there was an attempt to destroy evidence relating to the conducting of their business during the time after the arrest of applicant one and her arrest.
“Fortunately, the said evidence was already secured on a different device and was retrieved,” he explained.
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Boshoff also revealed that Wilken owned three vehicles, including a BMW with a personalised licence plate reading “Kids NA GP”.
The investigating officer contended that granting bail to Wilken and Moodley would not serve the interests of justice.
“The applicants have no previous conviction. This is, however, not relevant to the charges that they are currently facing. This is indicative of the fact that they are masters of hiding their criminal activities.”
Boshoff highlighted that each count of money laundering carried a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.
The affidavit detailed financial transactions linked to Wilken’s FNB bank account, which included amounts ranging from R20 000 to R477 000 between January 2023 and December 2024.
“No fixed income is received into this account. As evident from the above credit turnover, his monthly income fluctuates.
“For the year 2023, his annual turnover in FNB premium current account was R2 538 095.10,” the investigating officer stated.
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Wilken, in his own affidavit, claimed that his online business generated an income of R50 000 per month, and he could afford R5 000 bail.
Additionally, Boshoff further detailed financial transactions linked to Moodley’s FNB bank account, noting that it received R420 000 in 2023 and R1.2 million in 2024.
“This is a 198% increase from 2023,” he said.
The investigating officer also pointed out that the couple had frequently travelled to countries like Thailand and Bali, “where trafficking of children is rife”.
“The applicants have the financial resources to evade their trial. This is evident from the fact that R647 300 cash was found on their premises,” Boshoff explained.
“This excludes funds in bank cards that was found on the premises that do not belong to them. The applicants are also using cryptocurrency, Luno and Bitcoin accounts, to which we currently do not have access and have not been blocked.”
Boshoff emphasised the strength of the state’s case and argued that the accused were likely to evade trial.
“It is evident that a lot of arrests will follow their arrests and the investigations that are conducted. They have a network of people willing and able to assist them in evading arrest in order to avoid prosecution themselves.”
The bail application hearing will continue on Friday.
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