The Free State High Court has sentenced a man to a total of 8400 years’ imprisonment for sexual offences involving children.
Captain Bez Bezuidenhout, from the Provincial Serial and Electronics Crime Investigation (SECI) Unit, a specialised section within Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, arrested the suspect, who was flagged by Interpol for uploading CSAM (child sexual assault material) on the dark web.
As the investigation unfolded, the suspect was traced and arrested in Welkom in the Free State in August 2022. His electronic equipment was seized for analyses. Ultimately, he was charged with 1 010 different charges, ranging from two counts of rape of minor boys, human trafficking and the creation and distribution of child pornography.
The suspect, who is a computer programmer, lured the boys, whom he preferred to be between 8 and 10 years of age, with computer games. The parents of the victims trusted him and allowed the children to stay over at his house, thinking they were playing games. He even got one of the victims to come 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.
