Child porn: Teacher remanded
2003-09-22 12:05
Cape Town - A Plumstead teacher was remanded on Monday to October 7 when he appeared in Wynberg mgistrate's court on charges of possession of child pornography.
He told the court he would appoint his own attorney.
He appeared before magistrate Anneke Pretorius, who warned him to have his lawyer appointed and ready for his next appearance, when he is to apply for bail.
Prosecutor Haneen Edwards told the court the state would oppose the application and the man was being charged under Schedule 5 of the Criminal Procedure Act.
This places the onus on the teacher to persuade the court that it is in the interests of justice to release him on bail.
The prosecutor said it was the 55-year-old man's first appearance and he was charged with possession of pornographic material, in terms of the Film and Publications Act.
The teacher told the court he had not been given an opportunity yet to phone his lawyer, but the magistrate said he would be given access to a phone after his appearance.
Two-week investigation
At the time of his arrest last Thursday, police described the haul"as the largest single amount of child porn confiscated in the Western Cape so far.
The arrest by the child protection unit last week was the culmination of a two-week investigation.
A large amount of child pornography including video, digital and photographic material is being examined by the police's technical support unit.
Meanwhile, the Western Cape education department said that it was working as a "matter of urgency" to gather more information relating to the case.
"We are in the dark, because it was not a departmental investigation, but a criminal investigation," said Wernich Wandrag of the department's labour relations section.
He said that up until Monday, all the department knew was what had appeared in media reports.
Wandrag said that, depending on what information came to light, the teacher could either be "transferred, handed a precautionary suspension with full pay, or be charged by the department".
- SAPA