One of the greatest things about Grahamstown is how it is so far removed from Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban. Students live together in digs and residence houses, drinking far too much and copulating with each other at a rate unprecedented amongst any other university. I should know, I spent four of the best years of my life there.

Anyone who has visited the town in between terms, however, will know that once you remove the students, Grahamstown becomes something very different – a tranquil little community far removed from the madness that is mid-term. It seems, however, that the town has a monster in its midst and his list of crimes is vile beyond words.

A local guesthouse owner, who is suspected of being the leader of an international child porn syndicate, has been arrested and it has rocked the university town. This from TimesLive:

For years, the man allegedly pretended to be a teenage girl, conning his victims into performing sexual acts on themselves, which he recorded then streamed over the internet.

The suspect – who faces charges of possession, manufacture and distribution of child pornography – is the administrator of a website linked to paedophiles in the US, Canada and Europe.

There really is no punishment enough for such sick, twisted humans. Plans are now underway to have the man extradited to the US where he will stand trial for the abuse of 600 girls.

I imagine there will be a massive uproar amongst students and locals alike although I doubt it will interfere very much with beer sales at the Rat and Parrot.

[source:timeslive]