Parole officers demanded bribes of R5000
Peterson, who hacked into bank accounts and, after pleading guilty, developed award-winning anti-hacking software for the elite crime-fighting unit, was finally released last Thursday night after a magistrate ruled that he was being unlawfully imprisoned.
The man who once owned a thriving software development business and an apartment in posh Sandhurst Towers in Sandton, northern Johannesburg, now plans to sue the department of corrections for tens of millions of rands.
He told The Times yesterday that the only thing that kept him "going" during his extra year in jail was the thought of one day holding his son, Lyle, who was born in April.
"I held my son for the first time on Thursday, and the feeling was just overwhelming," he said.
"My family was not expecting me; I just walked through the door and my dad just started crying."
Peterson, from Reiger Park, east of Johannesburg, is now in talks with Hollywood film-maker Phillip Noyce to make a movie about his career as an Internet hacker.
He started hacking into government departments' accounts in December 2004 and, on his first attempt, stole R9.8-million.
He soon became one of the Scorpions' most-wanted criminals for establishing a sophisticated syndicate in which he would ask acquaintances to open bank accounts through which he would launder the stolen money and allow them to keep 60% of it.
After stealing R55-million - R17-million of which he stashed in a bank account in Swaziland - Peterson was arrested by Scorpions' officers in an elaborate sting operation in March 2007.
The following month, he pleaded guilty to charges of fraud and money laundering in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court. Then he entered into a deal with the Scorpions' Cyber Crimes Unit whereby he would repay the money, serve six months in jail, and afterwards be released to develop their anti-hacking software as part of his community service.
The remainder of his eight-year sentence was then to be suspended.
After his release from prison six months later, Peterson developed the software, which won an award for the Scorpions from the International Association of Prosecutors. The award was received by former National Director of Public Prosecutions Vusi Pikoli in Singapore.
It was then that Peterson's real troubles began.
He was arrested six months later for "absconding" from jail after Boksburg Prison officials failed to note his release was in terms of his plea bargain.
He claims in court papers that he was arrested by parole officers who demanded bribes of R5,000 to keep him out of jail.
In court papers forming part of his application for release from the Boksburg Prison placed before the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg as well as in the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court, Peterson said prisons officials were "punishing him" for not paying those bribes.
"The Boksburg community corrections officers are supplementing their income by extorting money from parolees, threatening them with rearrest when they do not pay," he wrote in his affidavit.
The Times has seen SMSs Peterson received in prison from warders who demanded bribes of R5,000 to get him released.
While holding his son yesterday, Peterson said the additional 14 months he spent in jail placed a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, Jana Wagner, who was pregnant with his son when he was sent to prison for the second time.
He is now ready to sue the department of corrections for lost income and personal possessions, which include his apartment, which was funded by his legitimate business, and cars including a Porsche Boxster and Audi TT.
NPA spokesman Mthunzi Mhaga said last night he was not able to comment on Peterson's case.
Boksburg Prison spokesman Patrick Thobejane also said he was unable to comment on the matter.
Peterson said he is scheduled to meet Noyce - who directed films including The Quiet American starring Michael Caine, Australian drama Rabbit Proof Fence and South African anti-apartheid drama Catch a Fire - this week.
Noyce confirmed to The Times that he was waiting for Peterson to be released so he could develop the script.
But it is not over.
Peterson is out on R5,000 bail pending the outcome of his appeal to cement his release. He is waiting for a date to return to the Kempton Park Magistrate's Court.
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