An alleged serial rapist and taxi driver abandoned his bail application at the Alexandra Magistrates’ Court and will remain in custody awaiting trial which is scheduled for 30 October.
This at a court hearing which had children and members of the South African Civic Organisation picketing outside denouncing the worrying trend of rape of children in the community.
The accused, Elias Ditinti (30) of 3rd Avenue, whose case was reported in this paper’s Cemetery Bust of week ending 9 October 2015, was arrested on 30 September by the Johannesburg Metro Police after he was allegedly caught raping a minor at the Marlboro Cemetery in his Toyota Avanza taxi. He had allegedly forced her into the taxi, promising to take her to school. Police investigations later allegedly pinned him to two other rape cases of minors from Alexandra, also in taxis, but he is said to have admitted to the police to one of the two additional cases.
Magistrate Syta Prinsloo postponed the case after the accused’s legal representative abandoned their initial intent to apply for bail. This after the magistrate had warned of the likely life sentence normally associated with this kind of crime should the accused be found guilty.
Among the picketers were relatives of the victims. A mother of one broke down, wailing, while others raised concerns about the impact on the child victims who, they said, would likely be psychologically scarred for life. The court heard that the victims sustained severe injuries to their private parts.
A legal expert said rape, especially of minors below the age of 16, normally carried life sentences, and abandoning the bail application was probably best for the accused as his release could incite revenge from the community, lead to the justice system being condemned and more people arrested for taking the law into their own hands.
