American paedophile sentenced to 50 years for child pornography

59 year old American Terry Ray Krieger , being assisted to the Milimani Law Courts cells after Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja in his judgement jailed Krieger for 50 years in a case in which Krieger pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography by circulating obscene publications depicting images of a child through yahoo chat and skype.PHOTO.FIDELIS KABUNYI

Milimani Senior Principal Magistrate Joseph Karanja has sentenced a paedophile to 50 years in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of child pornography.

Fifty nine year old American citizen Terry Ray Krieger admitted to circulating obscene images of Kenyan children using electronic media between May last year and October 2014.

The prosecution had pleaded with the court to pass a harsh penalty that will "render justice to the victims whose images have been circulated worldwide".

In his judgement, the magistrate said he was shocked at the despicable acts the accused performed on innocent children, which were captured by exhibits presented in court by the prosecution.

Horrific acts

"The exhibits presented in court gave a vivid picture of the inhumane and horrific acts targeted at vulnerable children by the accused," he said.

Police had told the court that the children are believed to be between the ages of three and 10 and are from the local area where the suspect resides.

The prosecution presented copies of the alleged chats, where the images were circulated, between the suspect and others in Germany and America covering the period between December 7, 2013 and May 18, 2014.

The magistrate said in sentencing the accused, the court took into consideration the seriousness of the offence and its impact on innocent children who "occupy a special place in society and whose rights must be protected".

"The accused has robbed young children off their innocence and it is disturbing that these despicable acts have been going on undetected," Mr Karanja ruled.

The magistrate said the American should serve as an example for those who have been violating the rights of children.

In mitigation Krieger had pleaded with the court not to hand him a harsh sentence saying he is physically handicapped and deserves mercy despite the nature of the offence against him.

However, Mr Karanja in his ruling said despite Krieger's paraplegic condition he does not deserve mercy from the court due to the gravity of offence he committed.

"There are scores of law-abiding paraplegic individuals in this country who do not engage in crimes of this nature and have co-existed peacefully with others in society. The offence against the accused is grave," the magistrate ruled.

Repeat offender

He said the accused is a repeat offender who had been jailed on May 1, 2005 for 15 years in Michigan, US fpr a related offence.

"The accused is a repeat offender of another jurisdiction where he committed similar offences. This clearly shows that he is a danger to society and must be kept away for a reasonable period of time," the magistrate said.

Krieger was arrested at Olepolos in Ngong after Interpol investigators in Germany and the US informed local authorities that there was a paedophile in Kenya who was exchanging pictures with other 'users' abroad. One of his counterparts was also arrested in Germany.

He has 14 days to appeal against the ruling.