Serial rape accused in court
2005-09-08 13:04
Cape Town - A leading seaman, suspected of being the Western Cape's worst-ever serial rapist, again appeared briefly in the Wynberg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
The man, 33, who can?t be named until he pleads, was arrested at his Mitchells Plain home in July.
His case was postponed on Thursday to November 7 for further investigation, and he will remain in custody in the Goodwood Prison.
After the postponement, the seaman's lawyer Mushtak Parker was asked how many counts his client was facing.
"I've got no charge sheet yet. All I know is that there are multiple charges," Parker replied. He added that identity parades still had to be arranged.
During the man's last court appearance on August 3, Parker told the court he was abandoning his client's bail application for the moment.
Parker said he would apply for bail for his client at a later stage.
Prosecutor Dawn Coleman said then investigations were continuing and there was no finality to the number of charges he faced.
Police said at the time of the suspect's arrest he faced 15 charges of rape and attempted rape but was also believed to be linked to another 25 cases going back as far as 1996.
The man, who is married with two daughters, is originally from Pretoria.
He joined the Navy in 1996 and worked at the Navy's Wingfield Base in Goodwood where he was part of the protection force detail guarding the premises.
- SAPA