by frank utonga
An acting High Court judge has raised concern over the future of children lured into the production of child pornography.
Daniel Mogotsi was addressing the Gauteng High Court in Palm Ridge on Tuesday during the sentencing of a man convicted of creating, possessing and distributing pornographic material showing children.
The 41-year-old Roodepoort man, who cannot be named so as to protect the identity of one of his victims which is his own child, was sentenced after he had earlier pleaded guilty.
He was sentenced to six years for the unlawful possession of child pornography, eight for importing child pornography, eight for the unlawful distribution of child pornography, 12 for using a child for pornography, 12 for benefiting from child pornography and another 12 for furthering the sexual exploitation of a child.
He was ordered to serve an effective eight years, with many of the sentences running concurrently.
The man was arrested in Durban in 2018 after an intensive joint probe by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and South African police.
He was producing and advertising child pornographic material on the internet.