Child porn case - request to view evidence
2012-03-01 20:01
Pretoria - The trial of nine people facing charges of sexually assaulting children and making child pornography was postponed by the Pretoria North Regional Court on Thursday.
Lawyers for the nine family members told the court they would want to view and have copies of the explicit material in the State's possession as evidence.
The nine accused are a grandfather, 58, grandmother, 57, their two sons from previous relationships, aged 34 and 36, the grandfather's brother, 61, his wife, 42, and their son, who is reportedly mentally disabled.
The 26-year-old wife of one of the sons was also arrested.
The ninth person was a 31-year old woman believed to be the wife of accused number eight.
Magistrate Pieter Nel postponed the matter to June 14, when the defence lawyers are expected to bring formal applications to have access to copies of the material.
Prosecutor Tania Carsterns said before granting the defence's request, that the court needed to consider the rights of the child victims and the community, against the rights of the people accused of abuse.
She argued reproduction of the electronic images and their distribution to the defence lawyers would equate to the distribution of child pornography and abuse.
Eight of the nine family members were arrested in 2010 on an array of charges including raping and sexually assaulting children, sexually grooming children, exposing children to pornography and benefiting from child pornography.
- SAPA
