Durban — A 62-year-old man charged with child pornography -- alleged to have had videos on his device of children being sexually abused -- is yet to apply for bail.
He appeared briefly on Wednesday in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court where there were issues with him being represented by Legal Aid South Africa.
The last time the accused was in court, the case was adjourned for his bail application and for a means test to be conducted to assess whether he qualified for the free services of Legal Aid.
However, his bail application could not proceed as there were still lingering issues with his legal representation.
The accused is one of two men arrested last month on charges of being in possession of, and downloading child pornography.
The SAPS Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Investigations (FCS) Serial and Electronic Criminal Investigations unit traced the accused to Umbilo on Wednesday, April 24, where thousands of child porn images and videos were seized.
Police said they also found images of children being sexually abused on the 62-year-old’s device.
During the operation, the Department of Social Development assisted in removing children, aged 6 and 4 months, who were living on the same property.
A day before the 62-year-old’s arrest Durban, entertainer Anthony Stonier was arrested on charges related to child pornography.
According to police, the 58-year-old was found in possession of hundreds of images and videos of children involved in sexual acts.
Included were images and chats where information was found relating to boys who are available for sexual favours at a price of R2500 and a willing buyer having a choice to drug them.
Stonier was refused bail last Thursday in the Durban Magistrate’s Court and is set to appear again in court on June 3.
Police have said that the arrest of the two men brought the total number to 13 of suspects arrested so far in South Africa through a joint operation between the SAPS and the US Department of Homeland Security.
The accused’s case was on Wednesday adjourned to next week for him to sort out the issue with legal representation before his bail application can be heard.
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