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Tonia Moodley Claims She Was Controlled by Darren Wilkens in Child Pornography Case
Tonia Moodley, the 25-year-old partner of alleged child pornography distributor Darren Wilkens, insists she was under his control throughout their relationship. Moodley and Wilkens face multiple charges, including possession and distribution of child pornography, fraud, and money laundering.
Wilkens, 34, was arrested on 17 January after police raided a Midrand property, seizing over 10 million images and videos. Moodley was arrested a week later in Houghton after being implicated in the case.
The pair appeared before the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Friday following several delays caused by Wilkens’ legal team in an attempt to strengthen his bail application.
[WATCH] Child porn-accused couple Darren Wilkens and his girlfriend Tiona Moodley appear at the Randburg Magistrate’s Court for a bail application. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/vuxfAtzqrG
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) February 7, 2025
Moodley distanced herself from Wilkens’ alleged operation, telling the court she had no knowledge of illegal activities linked to a website called ‘Dankmegaz,’ which reportedly contained explicit images of young children and teenagers for sale.
According to the State, her bank account received R420,000 in 2023 and another R1.2 million in 2024 for various transactions. However, Moodley denied the funds were linked to criminal activity.
“Despite them doing an in-depth analysis of the bank accounts, did my client in any way derive those funds from proceeds of child pornography? It doesn’t exist,” her legal counsel, Nigel Riley, argued in court.
Moodley claimed she was merely an administrator and that Wilkens was in full control of the business, including its financial accounts. She alleged that he dictated her spending and controlled her personal bank accounts.
According to an affidavit read by Attorney Dian Oosthuizen, Moodley stated that she was currently single, while Wilkens claimed they had been in a stable relationship since 2022.
As reported by TimesLIVE, Moodley insisted she was nothing more than a puppet in Wilkens’ operations. She said she never lived a lavish lifestyle and only followed his instructions regarding financial transactions.
Moodley admitted to assisting Wilkens in setting up websites but claimed he took full control once they were operational. She alleged that he handled the logins, passwords, and content while also changing access credentials whenever he deemed necessary.
She denied destroying any evidence, insisting she never had direct interaction with the users of the platforms.
“I had no interaction with users of the various sites, as it was the first accused who would introduce himself to users,” she stated in her affidavit.
The matter has been postponed to 14 February for the court’s decision on the bail application.
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