A 16-year-old teenager has been arrested in Malmesbury for accessing, possessing, facilitating and downloading child sexual abuse material.

Police said the arrest on Monday 17 August, followed intelligence from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Embassy and the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which indicated that a suspect linked to violent online networks known as ‘764’ was believed to be in South Africa.

The ‘764’ networks

The ‘764’ networks are violent international online extremist networks associated with child exploitation. Perpetrators reportedly target, blackmail and coerce minors into online sexual abuse, the torturing and murdering of animals and other forms of harmful criminal activity.

Intelligence-led operation

Police said the National Serial and Electronic Crime Investigations (SECI) Team traced the teenager to an address in Malmesbury, where he was arrested in the act on Monday, 17 August 2026.

The operation was led by the National SECI Team, supported by officers from the Head Office Occult Unit, the Paarl Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit, the Paarl K9 Unit and the Western Cape Crime Scene Investigation Unit, as well as agents from the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), US Embassy.

Explicit material seized

A preliminary on-site analysis of the suspect’s electronic devices uncovered explicit images and videos depicting child sexual abuse and animal mutilation. The devices will undergo comprehensive forensic analysis to determine the full extent of the alleged offences. A number of child victims have been identified thus far.

Court appearance

The teenager is expected to appear before the Malmesbury Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 18 August 2026.

The possibility of additional offences relating to fraud and money laundering forms part of ongoing investigations.

ALSO READ: WATCH | Convicted child murderer sentenced to two life sentences, three years