'I was driven by lust': Facebook accused

The man dubbed "the Facebook rapist" says lust impelled him to rape a Johannesburg model in Durban two months ago.

Thabo Bester, who yesterday pleaded guilty to raping two women in Durban before robbing them at knife-point, said he had intended only to rob them.

He begged the Durban Magistrate's Court to show him mercy. Bester planned to use his history of "years of abuse" to argue for a lesser sentence.

The 23-year-old from Eikenhof, south of Johannesburg, called himself Thomas Bester as he evaded police for months and taunted them with frequent Facebook updates.

Bester, previously convicted of fraud, was wanted in connection with a string of crimes across the country, including the murder of a Cape Town model. He has not been charged for this crime, or numerous others he is suspected of having committed.

Yesterday, a week after his arrest, Bester told the court that his initial intention was to rob the two women in Durban. In a plea explanation - read out by his Legal Aid-appointed attorney, Narendra Narotam - Bester said his first victim responded to an advert for a presenter and model he had placed on the FHM magazine website in July.

He had lured her to a fake photo shoot in Durban in order steal her cellphone and laptop, he said. On August 19, he had travelled with the model to Durban in her car. They had checked into a hotel in Umhlanga and, while the model showered, Bester had walked to Gateway Shopping Centre, where he bought a kitchen knife and duct tape.

Bester said that, on his return, he had pointed the knife at the model. They were both stabbed as they tussled for the knife. He had then tied his victim up with duct tape.

"As I was exiting, I saw the complainant's legs and I was tempted sexually. My initial intention was to rob the complainant and I had accomplished this . After I saw the complainant's body I was impelled by lust and I then proceeded to rape her," he said.

According to Bester, he fled to a hotel in Durban's Point area.

Days later he met his second victim, a woman introduced to him by his girlfriend.

According to his plea explanation, Bester had also planned to rob her. He had booked a flight back to Johannesburg for his girlfriend and stayed in Durban where he "romanced" the woman. "The complainant and I went to a guesthouse in Westville and we went to the Pavilion that evening for supper, by which time we were fancying each other and began kissing. We slept together that night," he said.

The next morning Bester held the woman at knife-point and raped her. He fled with her cellphone, watch, cash and credit cards.

The trial continues tomorrow.