Cops warn of serial rapist

2003-09-23 15:52

Johannesburg - Police on the East Rand have warned that a serial rapist may be on the loose following several assaults on young girls in the past week.

Captain Sophie Mayisela said it appeared it was the same man who had targeted three blonde girls between the ages of 11 and 16 years in the Benoni area.

Reports suggest the man calls girls to his car as if seeking information. When they are close enough he asks more questions and then opens the car door gesturing to them to come even closer so he can hear their replies. He then pounces, dragging the victims into the cab of his red Opel Corsa bakkie.

They are then taken to Bredell where he rapes them. When the attack is over he returns them to the spot where he first picked them up. There are no reports of a weapon being used or other injuries apart from the rapes.

Mayisela said the man was between 24 and 35 years. He was about 1.7m tall with short, dark-blond hair. He had a scar on the right side of his chin with another above his left knee. He wore a gold stud in his right ear.

Mayisela said one of the more curious aspects of the case was that the man initially spoke to the girls in Afrikaans but once they were held captive inside the vehicle he spoke to them in English.

"We are appealing to the community to give us any information which might help in the investigation of these cases," she said.

- SAPA