South African man sentenced to 12 years in US prison for child pornography

Marcell Meyer, a 45-year-old South African national originally from KwaZulu-Natal, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison in the United States. The sentencing took place in New York following Meyer's guilty plea to charges involving the distribution and possession of child pornography.

The crimes were uncovered during an undercover investigation led by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Meyer used a social networking application on his mobile phone to share explicit videos, believing he was communicating with a 13-year-old child who was actually an undercover agent.

In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Brindisi ordered Meyer to serve five years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. Meyer was also ordered to pay $21,000 in restitution to his victims. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Meyer will be eligible for deportation proceedings.