The National Prosecuting Authority in the Western Cape has welcomed the jail sentenced imposed on a 37-year-old man in a child porn case.
NPA spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said Corne van Rooyen was recently jailed for 12 years in a plea agreement after being caught downloading child porn images.
He says Van Rooyen's name will also be entered in the National Register of Sex Offenders.
Ntabazalila said he confessed to 10 offences and was sentenced to 49 years in prison, but the court ordered that the sentences run concurrently.
Van Rooyen made use of a popular social media app used by child pornographers, which caught the attention of the United States Department of Homeland Security, which had been infiltrating the platform.
The NPA says van Rooyen admitted that he joined the group because it promoted the selling of child pornography and that he wanted to be in a group of like-minded people.
He was arrested at his home in Kraaifontein on 18 January 2024.
During the raid at his home, police confiscated all his electronic devices, two unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
Police also found that he was ill-treating two dogs, three ball python snakes and poorly fed fish.
The NPA says he had a pitbull terrier, which he tied on a short rope without any access to shade. Thus, he contravened Section 2(1)(a) read with Sections 1, 3, and 4 of the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962.
