A suspected serial rapist has appeared in court.
Mdu Ndzingi/Drum Magazine/Gallo Images/Getty Ima
- A rape victim says she had flashbacks when she saw her alleged abuser in court.
- The woman was repeatedly raped in the presence of her younger sister.
- He allegedly offered the women a ride before pulling out a firearm, ordering them to undress and raping them inside his vehicle.
A suspected serial rapist from Ekurhuleni, singled out by 19 rape whistleblowers in an identity parade, winked at his wife and relatives in the public gallery as he appeared in a packed Daveyton Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
The defendant, a 38-year-old part-time law student, cannot be identified because he has not yet pleaded guilty to the charges against him.
After her brief court appearance, a 29-year-old woman told reporters about her ordeal allegedly committed by the defendant.
She said she and her 25-year-old sister decided to walk home from Daveyton Mall because there were no taxis.
“As we were walking, a white sedan pulled up near us. He asked us if we needed a ride. Since it was late, we agreed and jumped in the car.”
She said that during the trip they began to feel uncomfortable and just as they were about to get out of the car at their parents’ house, the man pointed a gun at them.
“He told us not to do anything stupid because we’ll make him do something he doesn’t want to do if we don’t cooperate.”
Forced brothers.
“Then we drove and parked in a bushy spot in Daveyton. She jumped up, came to my side, opened the door, and stripped off her pants. He ordered me to take off my pants and shoes and get into the back seat. He told my sister to get naked. My sister said that she was on her period. She then threatened that not raping her that night doesn’t mean she won’t rape her one day. He promised that his day would come.”
He allegedly ordered the victim to lie on top of his sister while he raped her.
READ | A man he trusted: Father angry after African National Congress district official arrested for rape of his daughter
“When he finished, he ordered me to go back to the front seat… He raped me again.
“When he finished, he ordered me to get dressed. He took us back to our house.”
She said she did not open a police case because the man claimed he was a police officer and threatened that he could easily track them down since he knew where they lived.
He only reported the rape after seeing a post on a neighborhood watch group on January 24 about the alleged rapist’s arrest on January 23 in Putfontein, where he allegedly tried to convince two women, separately, to travel with him.
The man was singled out positively by 17 people during an identity parade in February and by two other victims after his arrest in January.
READ | Police offer reward for information on Ekurhuleni ‘serial rapist’
The woman said seeing him at the identity parade brought back painful memories.
“I’ve collapsed. I’m struggling to get out. I’m afraid they might attack me again.”
She said the alleged rape has also affected her marriage.
“My husband doesn’t know. No one in the family except my sister knows. I’ll tell them when I’m ready to talk,” she said.
News24 understands that cases of rape were reported in Putfontein, Tembisa, Daveyton and Benoni in Ekurhuleni.
It is alleged that the defendant carried out a wave of rapes in Tembisa in 2018 and that his youngest victims were 14 and 15 years old. Some victims were raped more than twice.
The case returns to court on February 27.
