A man in police custody has been linked to nearly 60 cases of rape in the Ekurhuleni district in Gauteng, spanning as far back as 2012.
Police said on Wednesday that after almost three years of searching for the suspect, they made a breakthrough arrest on March 17. The combined efforts of the Gauteng family violence, child protection and sexual offences investigations detectives (FCS), the national investigative psychology section (IPS) and the national forensic sciences laboratory (FSL) biology section and victim identification centre (VIC) culminated with the arrest.
“After his arrest, a DNA report has linked the suspect in police custody to these rape cases which were reported as far back as 2012 in various policing precincts including Batho, Crystal Park, Daveyton, Etwatwa and Putfontein police stations,” national police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said.
Several victims have come forward with additional information since the arrest, which could link the suspect to more cases.
“While the team is still hard at work analysing the suspect's modus operandi through the investigative psychology section, the possibility of linking this suspect to additional cases cannot be ruled out at this stage. With the inclusion of the analysis of the modus operandi, the suspect could possibly be linked to about 40 other cases, bringing a total number of cases to nearly 100 against this alleged sexual offences perpetrator.”
The suspect, under police guard in hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound during his arrest, is due to appear again in absentia before the Daveyton magistrate's court on Thursday.
“The suspect was shot when he was attempting to evade arrest on March 17 and is still in hospital under police guard.”
National police commissioner Gen Khehla John Sitole commended the “relentless efforts” of the multidisciplinary task team.
TimesLIVE
DNA evidence links man in custody to nearly 60 rape cases in Ekurhuleni
Image: Olga Yastremka/123rf
A man in police custody has been linked to nearly 60 cases of rape in the Ekurhuleni district in Gauteng, spanning as far back as 2012.
Police said on Wednesday that after almost three years of searching for the suspect, they made a breakthrough arrest on March 17. The combined efforts of the Gauteng family violence, child protection and sexual offences investigations detectives (FCS), the national investigative psychology section (IPS) and the national forensic sciences laboratory (FSL) biology section and victim identification centre (VIC) culminated with the arrest.
“After his arrest, a DNA report has linked the suspect in police custody to these rape cases which were reported as far back as 2012 in various policing precincts including Batho, Crystal Park, Daveyton, Etwatwa and Putfontein police stations,” national police spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said.
Several victims have come forward with additional information since the arrest, which could link the suspect to more cases.
“While the team is still hard at work analysing the suspect's modus operandi through the investigative psychology section, the possibility of linking this suspect to additional cases cannot be ruled out at this stage. With the inclusion of the analysis of the modus operandi, the suspect could possibly be linked to about 40 other cases, bringing a total number of cases to nearly 100 against this alleged sexual offences perpetrator.”
The suspect, under police guard in hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound during his arrest, is due to appear again in absentia before the Daveyton magistrate's court on Thursday.
“The suspect was shot when he was attempting to evade arrest on March 17 and is still in hospital under police guard.”
National police commissioner Gen Khehla John Sitole commended the “relentless efforts” of the multidisciplinary task team.
TimesLIVE
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