- PANDEMIC - Pedos & Child Porn in the News - Equal Parenting-BC

pornography would go to jail. With these words, Durban regional court Magistrate Mike Lasich refused the grimfaced
couple bail, pending sentencing in May.
The couple, who cannot be named to protect the identity of their children, who are now in foster care, were arrested
in August 2003 at their Bluff home.
They faced 26 charges: 11 of generating child pornography, 13 of indecently assaulting their eight-year-old son,
three-year-old daughter and two-year-old son, and two charges under the Child Care Act.
The pornography and indecent assault charges related to 78 images downloaded from the couple's computer which
depicted them performing sexual acts with their children.
At the trial, a one-minute video clip showed similar acts.
One of the charges related to 120 pornographic images which had been lifted from websites. These depicted what
appeared to be youths and adults dressed like children performing sexual acts.
The trial, earlier this year, lasted only one week. The couple called only one witness and argument by defence
advocate Jeff Hewitt SC centred mainly on technical issues.
The judgment, delivered by Lasich on Wednesday, was equally technical. While he acquitted the couple on many of
the counts, this was because of technicalities and "duplication of charges". The verdict, in essence, was that the state
had proved its case.
He found both husband and wife guilty of one count each of indecent assault and another count each of possession
or creation of child pornography.
Additionally, he found the man guilty of an additional count of possession of child pornography relating to the
video, and three counts of committing indecent acts with children under the age of 16.
The woman was also convicted of a charge under the Films and Publications Act relating to the pornographic
images of her and the children.
In his judgment, the magistrate said that some of the images in which genitalia were displayed amounted to "nothing
more than indecent exposure" and did not constitute an assault.
However, one of the images, which showed the mother and her son, was "clearly an assault of an indecent nature".
The defence had suggested that this was some form of therapy for a condition that the boy suffered from, but the
magistrate dismissed this as "false beyond any doubt".
"In any event, it begs the question as to why one would want to document this," he commented.
The magistrate also concurred with the defence that some of the images looked at individually could be "tomfoolery,
horseplay or just ugly". But viewed in their totality, the images definitely constituted child pornography, he said.
The couple are expected to call a psychologist to give evidence in mitigation of sentence.
Hewitt said evidence would be led that the couple were not paedophiles and that the children had not been
traumatised or injured.
Arguing for their bail to be extended, he said none of the offences carried mandatory jail sentences.
But the magistrate disagreed, and ordered that they remain in custody.
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Former teacher, coach admits child-porn charges
USA - The Free Lance-Star, VA - March 31, 2005
CONFIDENTIAL ---- Pandemic - Pedo & CP Report – April 17, 2005 - page 81 of 216