DailySun
Pretoria – Two individuals suspected of engaging in sexual grooming, as well as producing and sharing child pornography, have been arrested in a joint operation conducted by the South African Police Service (SAPS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
In a press release on Sunday, December 15, 2024, SAPS revealed that collaboration with U.S. law enforcement agencies played a crucial role in tracking down and capturing the two suspects.
According to police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk, the suspects were held for sexual grooming, possession, downloading, production, and distribution of child pornography at various sites within Gauteng.
Lieutenant Colonel Van Wyk noted that the first operation occurred on Thursday, December 12, 2024, when members of both the national and Gauteng provincial Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations Unit and Forensic Social Work, in alliance with the FBI, acted on information received through an international tip line.
Investigations led the team to a site in Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng, where a 49-year-old man was arrested on charges of sexually grooming and raping his girlfriend’s 15-year-old daughter.
“In a follow-up operation on Friday, December 13, 2024, another suspect, a 41-year-old former teacher and school principal from Pretoria, was taken into custody for exposing minors to adult pornography and for grooming boys aged between 10 and 12,” Lieutenant Colonel Van Wyk stated.
“To date, three victims have been positively identified, while an additional six victims remain to be located.”
This operation involved a multi-disciplinary team that included members from both the national and Gauteng provincial SECI Unit, as well as the Pretoria Central Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Unit, collaborating with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Lieutenant Colonel Van Wyk remarked: “In both incidents, the teams seized numerous electronic devices believed to contain images and videos of child sexual abuse, commonly known as child pornography.”
Both suspects are expected to appear separately in the Pretoria Central Magistrate’s Court and Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court on Monday, December 17, 2024.
Lieutenant Colonel Van Wyk emphasized that the state will oppose bail in both cases.
