Kerwin Budden (42) was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court. Four years were suspended for five years.
CAPE TOWN – A Port Elizabeth man on Thursday was slapped with an effective eight-year jail term for the possession and distribution of child porn.
Kerwin Budden (42) was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court. Four years were suspended for five years. His sentencing came after he pleaded guilty in August.
Budden was arrested after Gauteng police apprehended a man in Krugersdorp on similar child porn charges in 2019.
Riaan Mans was taken into custody for the alleged possession and distribution of child porn after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) alerted the South African police to his activities.
Mans had allegedly downloaded explicit child porn images, videos, and chats through a mobile app. He is believed to have confessed to police that he shared the content with various people, including Budden in Port Elizabeth.
Police then obtained a search warrant and in collaboration with America’s Department of Homeland Security, they found several child porn images on Budden’s cellphone and laptop.
In his plea, Budden admitted to sharing the explicit content on social media platforms.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the pictures found in his possession depicted underage girls being sexually abused.
The NPA welcomed the sentence that was handed down.
