A computer programmer has been sentenced to 8 400 years in prison by the Free State High Court for sexual offences involving children.
In a statement, the South African Police Service (SAPS) says captain Bez Bezuidenhout, from the Provincial Serial and Electronics Crime Investigation Unit, a specialised section within the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit (FCS), arrested the suspect, who was flagged by Interpol for uploading child sexual assault material on the dark web.
According to SAPS, the investigation team, consisting of Bezuidenhout, captain Fanie van der Merwe from the Thabong FCS Unit and warrant officer Pieter de Wahl from the Provincial Local Criminal Record Centre, worked tirelessly to analyse the information received from Interpol.
At first, they only received photos from Interpol, and through the eyes of a seasoned detective, a fingerprint was visible on one of the photos in question, it notes, adding that through the analysis of the fingerprint, they could identify the suspect.
As the investigation unfolded, the suspect was traced and arrested in Welkom in the Free State in August 2022.
SAPS notes his electronic equipment was seized for analysis.
Ultimately, 1 010 charges were laid, ranging from two counts of rape of minor boys and human trafficking, to the creation and distribution of child pornography.
The suspect, who is a computer programmer, lured the boys, whom he preferred to be between eight and 10 years of age, with computer games, says SAPS.
It points out that the parents of the victims trusted him and allowed the children to stay over at his house, thinking they were playing games.
SAPS reveals he even got one of the victims to travel all the way from Durban to him and stay with him for months.
Mario Guisti (36) was found guilty on 1 010 charges for the rape of two boys, one charge of human trafficking and 1 007 charges of the possession, creation and distribution of child pornography.
He was sentenced to a total of 8 400 years’ imprisonment. His name will be recorded in the National Register of Sexual Offenders and he was found unsuitable to work with children.
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