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- The 45-year-old man accused of raping two minor girls at a hotel in Tshwane on Friday told the court he wants to plead guilty.
- The man has been charged with two counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping.
- Police also revealed that the accused is a convicted rapist and was on probation at the time these crimes were allegedly committed.
The 45-year-old man accused of raping two minor girls in a hotel in Tshwane, who is a convicted rapist, has told the court that he wants to plead guilty.
The man, whose identity cannot be released because he is a relative of one of the victims, made his first appearance in Pretoria Magistrates Court on Monday after being arrested on Friday.
The defendant is alleged to have picked up the victims, ages 11 and 13, from Lotus Gardens in Attridgeville on Friday, took them to a liquor store in Pretoria West, and then headed to the CBD where he rented a hotel room.
There it is alleged that he raped both victims.
In a statement, Gauteng police spokesman Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said the youngest victim managed to escape and alerted people at the hotel.
“Hotel security was alerted, the police were called, and the suspect who was still in the hotel room was subsequently arrested,” Peters said.
A video of people questioning the defendant in the hotel room, presumably before police arrived on the scene, went viral on social media.
Police also revealed that the defendant was previously convicted and served time in prison for rape and was on probation when arrested.
Police did not say how long the defendant had been in prison before being released, what prison term he was sentenced to, or the age of the victim.
guilty plea
Speaking in Zulu, the defendant told the court that he did not want to waste court time and that he wanted to plead guilty to the charges.
According to the charge sheet, the defendant has been charged with two counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping.
After a short postponement, the defendant told the court that he wanted to use Legal Aid’s services and apply for bail.
The matter was postponed until December 7 for a formal request for bail.
When the defendants left the dock, members of the public pleaded with the magistrate not to grant them bail, while the relatives of one of the victims wept inconsolably.
Welcome arrest
Acting Police Commissioner in Gauteng, Major General Patricia Rampota, welcomed the arrest and reminded investigators to work closely with prosecutors to build an airtight case in the best interest of justice for minor victims. .
In addition, he assured the public that the police are committed to defending the rights of victims of gender violence, domestic violence and femicide and will prioritize the investigation of all crimes committed where the victims are women, children and other vulnerable people.
“Our communities are encouraged to become familiar with SAPS [South African Police Service] systems in place to ensure that the community receives optimal service at all times, to restore public confidence in the service, “Rampota said.
“The SAPS Service Complaint Center is accessible to the public to file complaints that can range from poor service delivery with respect to response time, investigations, police negligence, police misconduct and general complaints against SAPS members.”
