- A 48-year-old man returned to court in Swellendam on Thursday for allegedly being part of a secret child sex chat room.
- His arrest was in collaboration with the US Department of Homeland Security via the US embassy.
- He is on bail and can only have contact with his own children.
A Overberg farmer briefly appeared in the Swellendam Magistrate's Court on Thursday for allegedly participating in a secret US child sex chat room.
The 48-year-old man was traced to a farm in the Overberg District in March by the police and US Department of Homeland Security, working through the US embassy.
At the time, the police said he faced charges under the Film and Publication Act for allegedly being in possession of material that might constitute the sexual abuse of children.
Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie said the case was postponed for further investigation and referred to the Swellendam Regional Court.
"The suspect has not pleaded as yet, so he may not be named. He will be back in court on 23 June," Pojie added.
During a previous court appearance, the accused was granted R2 000 bail under stringent conditions, including no accessing of the web, and only having contact with his own children.
The arrest was a joint effort by the police's Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit based in Cape Town, and a search warrant executed via the US embassy based on allegations that he frequented the US chat room.
His home was searched and electronic equipment, including cellphones and tablets, was seized for analysis.
According to Interpol, a study identified these trends regarding the sexual abuse of children in pictures and videos:
- The younger the victim, the more severe the abuse.
- 84% of images contained explicit sexual activity.
- More than 60% of unidentified victims were prepubescent, including infants and toddlers.
- 65% of unidentified victims were girls.
- Severe abuse images were more likely to feature boys.
- 92% of visible offenders were male.
Interpol is also discouraging the term "child pornography", advocating it be called child sexual abuse because it was not the same as consensually filmed material between adults.
"Pornography is a term used for adults engaging in consensual sexual acts distributed [mostly] legally to the general public for their sexual pleasure," it wrote.
"When children are involved, it's not porn. It's abuse. It's a crime."
Did you know you can comment on this article? Subscribe to News24 and add your voice to the conversation.