A man who has been diagnosed with a paedophilic disorder will spend eight years behind bars after his appeal against his sentence was denied in the Western Cape High Court.
Clinton Calder, 55, was sentenced in the Wynberg Regional Court in 2021, after he pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said Calder was
arrested after a Belgian Chief Inspector, assigned to investigate online sites discussing
child abuse, or luring children, led him to Calder's location.
NPA spokesperson in the Western Cape, Eric Ntabazalila,
says ‘’Calder operated online, under the pseudonym on the Gigatribe platform. He
was convicted on 3 195 counts of possession of child pornography, one count of
distributing child pornography, one count of importation of pornography and 19
counts of creating child porn.’’
Calder appealed his sentence arguing that his conduct was a
mere moment of madness as he had been doing crazy things, sought psychological
treatment and was suffering from depression.
Ntabazalila says he further argued that he had a clean
criminal record and due to his medical condition and sexual affliction, a non
custodial sentence would be better so that he can get the psychological
treatment he requires.
Calder also complained about the excessive smoking habits
of prisoners, stating that the magistrate failed to consider this during
sentencing.
Ntabazalila says an experienced nurse working at the
hospital section of Pollsmoor Prison testified that other prisoners with similar
medical conditions were successfully treated.
The Judges agreed.
Done By: Elona Sibunzi
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