Durban - Detectives from the Inanda Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit have arrested a suspected serial rapist operating in the Sydenham policing precinct.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala said the unit arrested a 30-year-old man on Thursday in connection with three counts of rape.
“From January to May 2022, the (rapist) targeted females who were walking alone late in the afternoon around the Sydenham policing area. He would point at them with a firearm and force them to get into his vehicle. He would then drive to a secluded spot where he would sexually violate the victims at gunpoint,” Gwala said.
“During the arrest, police allegedly found the suspect in possession of a toy gun and allegedly driving the same vehicle, as described by the victims.”
Gwala said the detectives will profile the suspect to check if he was linked to other cases where the same modus operandi was used.
She said that the suspect will appear in the Durban Magistrate’s Court today (on Monday) on charges of rape.
In January, the same unit arrested a 50-year-old man suspected of being a serial rapist.
At the time, Gwala said the first reported case dated back to 2008, when it was alleged that the suspect targeted unsuspecting victims in the Durban city area.
In a calm and convincing manner, he would allegedly ask them to accompany him to Isipingo either because he did know the area very well or because a victim was in distress and he would offer them assistance, and in so doing lure them to Isipingo.
They would board a taxi and once at Isipingo, he would allegedly tell them that he needed to fetch his car from a particular house. They would then walk a distance of about 3km, and the final destination would be a bushy area at Wattle Place, where he would allegedly strangle, rape and rob the victims of their valuables.
She said cases involving a similar modus operandi kept on piling up until it became apparent that a serial rapist was operating in the area. A concerted effort was made to arrest the perpetrator, but he proved to be difficult to trace.
“The last reported case, which brought the number of cases reported to 22, occurred on August 20, 2021, where the victim alleges that she was also lured to Isipingo where she was also strangled and subsequently lost consciousness. When she woke up she was naked, and sought help from the people on the street and reported the matter to the Isipingo police station. After medical examinations were conducted it was discovered that she had been raped,” Gwala said.
There was no proper description of the suspect from the victims and he allegedly also used different names, according to his victims.
“A painstaking police investigation coupled with calculated undercover work finally led detectives to a house at Malukazi where the suspect was found. With alleged positive identification from two of the victims, he was subsequently arrested,” Gwala said.
Daily News