A RAPIST and human trafficker's reign of terror has come to an end after he was convicted on more than 1000 charges related to the rape of two boys.
Thee 36-year old has been sentenced to 8 400 years in prison by the Free State High Court.
Mario Guisti (36) was found guilty on 1010 charges, ranging from rape, human trafficking as well as possessing, producing and distributing child porn.
Free State police spokeswoman Captain Loraine Earle said Guisti, who is a computer programmer, lured boys aged between 8 and 10 to his home under the pretense of playing computer games and then violated them.
"The parents of the victims trusted him and allowed their children to stay over at his house, thinking they were playing games. He took naked pictures of the kids and their private parts. In two cases, he raped them. He was well known in the community and often targeted his victims on Facebook," she said.
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Earle told Daily Sun Guisti also lured a victim in Durban, KZN through Facebook.
"He even got one of the victims to come all the way from Durban to stay with him for more than a month. The victim was between the ages of 8 and 10 because he preferred that age. That’s where the human trafficking charge came from," Earle said.
According to Earle, Guisti’s devious acts were uncovered in 2022 after he was arrested in August after being flagged by Interpol for uploading child sexual assault material on the dark web.
She said the police worked tirelessly to analyse the information received from Interpol.
"His electronic equipment was seized for analysis. Ultimately, he was charged with 1 010 different charges ranging from two counts of rape of minor boys, human trafficking and the production and distribution of child porn," Earle said.
Guisti was found guilty on all charges and sentenced.
"His name will be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry, and he was found unfit to work with children," Earle said.
