Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Nomthetheleli Mene applauded the arrest of a man (52) from East London for egregious charges relating to child pornography on Tuesday, March 5.
He appeared before the East London Magistrate’s Court on March 7, 2024, and is remanded in custody until March 14, 2024, for a formal bail application.
According to police spokesperson Colonel Priscilla Naidu as part of an ongoing operation targeting online child sexual predators, the alleged sexual predator was arrested for the possession, distribution, accessing, downloading, facilitating and viewing of child pornography in East London.
“Hundreds of child pornography images were found on his devices by a forensic investigator. During the operation, cell phones, laptops and various storage devices were seized. The suspect forms part of the 27 online child sexual predators who were identified in South Africa as part of a joint international operation,” said Naidu
She said that members of the Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) Head Office, SECI in Eastern Cape and the Department of Homeland Security Investigations f the US Embassy conducted the takedown operation and arrest on March 5, 2024.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Mene has iterated that the arrest of this sexual predator marks a significant step in their ongoing efforts to protect their community’s most vulnerable members from exploitation and abuse.
“Those who engage in such reprehensible activities will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Mene.
