Southern Cape police have arrested a man and woman on rape charges and taken two children into safe custody after a raid on a farm where child pornography was allegedly filmed.
Police spokesperson Captain Eddie Cronje said the arrests were made during a police raid on a farm near Stilbaai on Tuesday, following a tip-off from a member of the public.
Two minors, 11 and 14 years old, were found in the house. The children had allegedly been part of sexual activities in the house which were filmed and photographed. The images were loaded onto computers.
The police seized DVDs, videos, computers and other equipment for further investigation.
Several other premises in Stilbaai were searched and goods ”of the same nature” were seized.
The children have been taken to a place of safety. The adults, a man of 36 and an 18-year-old woman, both South Africans, have already appeared in court in Albertinia and the case has been postponed to December 9. They are in police custody.
The pair face counts of rape as well as charges under the Films and Publication Act of producing and possessing child pornography.
Cronje said the adults were apparently members of a ”cult” called the Trilogy Alliance which appeared to have members and branches nationally.
He said police were appealing for information on the cult.
Several Trilogy Alliances have a presence on the internet. One of them describes itself as a ”spiritual order dedicated towards the feminine facet of the human psyche”, following ”a spiritual path known as the Way of Zen and Tao-ism”.
Another, the Dark Trilogy Alliance, appears to be a forum for online gaming, in which players join ”clans”. – Sapa