Child porn a crime - ConCourt
2003-10-15 10:59
Johannesburg - The Constitutional court ruled on Wednesday that the possession of child pornography without a permit was a crime.
The court dismissed an application by Tasco Luc de Reuck to strike down sections of the Films and Publications Act making it an offence to possess child pornography.
De Reuck is on trial in Randburg regional court on charges of possessing child pornography, which he said he had collected in order to make a documentary on paedophiles.
Writing for the court, Deputy Chief Justice Pius Langa said that outlawing child pornography was a justifiable limit on the rights to freedom of expression and privacy.
Langa also found child pornography was considered an evil in all democratic societies.
- SAPA