S. African paedophile jailed 170 years after pleading guilty to 870 charges

A convicted paedophile in South Africa’s East Rand area has been sentenced to 170 years in jail. He was found guilty of 870 charges of rape and possession of child pornography.

The News24 portal reports that on Monday morning, Judge Cassim Moosa handed a verdict of 32 life sentences to Warren Troy Knoop, a car salesperson.

He was caught when US officials found him sharing a number of videos on a website popular with paedophiles. A raid conducted by South African authorities led to the seizure of among other things laptops, storage devices, memory cards and a mini spy camera.

Knoop last Friday pleaded with the court to help him after he was found guilty of the crimes. ‘‘I can’t take back everything I have done to those people,’‘ he said.

“I need help. This has been a cry for help and from here on, I can make a difference. It hurts me, but I deserve this. I need help,” a weeping Knoop told the court.

The prosecutor in the case proved during the trial that Knoop’s first victim was born six years ago. The victim the court was told was a year old when she was first fondled. One of his victims tried committing suicide in 2013.

He stopped molesting his first victim after she ‘‘began talking too much.’‘ Prosecutor Riana Williams said there were images of the girl naked whiles Knoop masturbated on her.