PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - There was widespread outrage when the Plettenberg Bay computer engineer who was convicted of 18 644 charges of child pornography possession and sentenced to 15 years behind bars in 2017, appealed his sentence in the Cape Town High Court on Friday 22 March.
William Beale (29) received what is believed to be the harshest sentence ever handed down in a case of possession of child pornography in South African, which also involved the largest number of images.
However, his counsel Paul van der Berg argued on Friday that the sentence was disproportionate compared to similar cases.
Some babies only days old
Following Beale's arrest during a sting operation at his seaside home in Plett, police discovered thousands of images and videos of children being tortured, raped and even murdered on his computer. Some of the children involved were only a few days old. He was the first South African to have been arrested as part of an operation involving Belgian and South African police attempting to take down an international child pornography network.
Beale was tracked down following the arrest of an alleged paedophile in Belgium in October 2014. While using the suspect's profile, members of the Antwerp police child sexual exploitation unit found the Plettenberg Bay man's internet address after coming across the cyber meeting place.
He was initially charged with just short of 180 000 counts of possession of child pornography, but during a plea agreement in February last year, he pleaded guilty to only 18 644.
'Highlight seriousness of crimes'
During sentencing in the Thembalethu Regional Court in George in November 2017, magistrate Eugenia Jacobs said it was important to highlight the seriousness of Beale's crimes. She added that the images involved depicted the most horrific acts imaginable on children.
She said that while taking into account all sentence options, she came to the realisation that a noncustodial sentence would be a total disregard of the seriousness of the crime.
Jacobs further said that in the past, courts dealt with child pornography possession relatively lightly, but in recent years have come to realise the seriousness of the crimes and have opted for stricter sentences.
'Clear message to public'
"This sentence should send a clear message to the public that these crimes are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Imprisonment will deter the accused from repeating similar crimes and also deter others from committing such offences," Jacobs said at the time.
"If the courts and the community are not the voices for the voiceless, who will be," she added.
Women and Men Against Child Abuse Western Cape spokesperson Joanne Barrett said they trust that the court would dismiss his appeal.
"This is not a victimless crime. Every image depicts a child being sexually abused, assaulted, raped and even murdered," Barrett said.
Judgment was reserved on Friday.
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