A 31-year-old woman accused of a string of child pornography-related charges was denied bail by the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
As the mother of one of the sexually abused nine-year-old boys, she should have noticed her son’s awkward behaviour which included “very strong sexual urges”, said magistrate Pierre Wessels.
He found that there was a strong case against her and that although she was not a flight risk, this was not exceptional enough to justify the granting of bail.
The woman and eight of her relatives face charges of rape, indecent assault and sexual grooming of children, and possession, manufacturing and distribution of child pornography.
The eight include a grandfather (58), grandmother (57), their two sons from previous relationships, aged 34 and 36, the grandfather’s brother (61), and his wife (42), and their son, who is reportedly mentally disabled, and the 26-year-old wife of one of the sons.
Six children, aged four and older, were allegedly used in sex movies which were then distributed. Four children were removed from the care of the accused and were sent for psychological and medical tests.
The court previously heard that a number of the children told the police that the 31-year-old woman did nothing to stop the abuse, but that there was no mention of any specific incident where the woman was present.
She is believed to be the wife of accused number eight, who on Wednesday asked the court for permission to write a letter to his 19-year-old son for his birthday on April 19.
Wessels ruled that this was for a social worker to approve and not the court.
The state prosecutor told the court a National Prosecuting Authority decision was still pending on whether an additional charge of racketeering would be brought against the nine.
Wessels postponed the case until May 5 for further investigation.
He advised accused three and four to get legal representation as they faced serious charges which could result in life imprisonment.
“At this stage you don’t grasp the who scope of how big this thing can be …,” said Wessels. — Sapa