Africa-Press – South-Africa. A 65-year-old man from Johannesburg who was part of an international child pornography network has been found guilty of being in possession of and distributing thousands of images and videos of child pornography since 2012.
Kevin George Edwin Mulligan appeared in the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Monday, where he pleaded guilty to 186 counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.
According to the charge sheet, between May 2012 and July 2017, Mulligan was in possession of around 6 830 images and videos of child pornography.
He kept the images on his computer and used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network known as GigaTribe to share pictures and videos with other paedophiles who formed part of a child pornography network.
“The images and video clips contained material of children patently under the age of 18-years in sexually explicit positions or engage in sexual conduct or participating in sexual acts or assisting another person to participate in such conduct or acts,” the charge sheet stated.
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Mulligan was arrested at his home on 11 July 2017 following a tip-off from the Belgium police. A search of his computer revealed the large cache of child pornography that he had been actively collecting and distributing for years.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority, Mulligan was one of 10 suspects involved in this child pornography network who had been arrested in South Africa.
Several other arrests were also executed around the world.
Mulligan will be sentenced on 11 June.
In July last year, a Cape Town man was sentenced to 10-years imprisonment following his conviction on more than 3 000 counts of distributing child pornography, importation of child pornography and creation of child pornography.
Clinton Mark Calder was found guilty of collecting and distributing child pornography between September 2014 and June 2015. He was arrested on 31 August 2015.
The State told the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court that Calder was also part of an international child pornography network.
Law enforcement officials worldwide worked together to trace and expose peer to peer file sharing child pornography offenders, NPA regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said at the time.
During the trial, State witness Warrant Officer Grobler-Koonin said Calder had been using GigaTribe.
“He [Grobler-Kroonin] told the court that Calder had to specifically log on to the network to gain access, thereafter, he had to connect with a peer and request files in order to download his vast collection,” Ntabazalila said.
Similar cases were also reported in the US.
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