Prosecutor jailed for possession of child pornography and sexual assault

A Western Cape prosecutor was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in prison on 157 charges of possession of child pornography and one charge of sexual assault. 

Dawid Lotz, a 44-year-old control prosecutor at the Atlantis magistrate's court at the time of his arrest on December 31 2016, pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the Parow regional court on Monday.

“During October 2016, the provincial family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit (FCS) was informed about an alleged person of interest at Atlantis magistrate's court who was in possession of child pornography,” police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk said on Tuesday.

“An investigation was launched under the leadership of Brig Sonja Harri, provincial head of the FCS unit in the Western Cape,” said van Wyk.

“During the investigation it came to light that it was the control prosecutor at Atlantis magistrate's court who was identified as the person of interest.

“Application was made for the necessary search warrants and subsequently the office at Atlantis magistrate's court, together with his residence in Malmesbury, were searched and exhibits were seized by the provincial cyber crime unit,” he said.

Lotz's guilty plea resulted in the court suspending three years of his sentence for five years. He was added to the register for sex offenders, meaning he cannot work with children or carry a firearm.