The man believed to be the Ekurhuleni serial rapist appeared in the Daveyton Magistrate’s Court today (May 27) on two counts of rape.
He was remanded in custody and the matter was postponed to June 7 for further investigation, in respect of his bail application and to formulate more charges.
The 37-year-old suspect entered the courtroom on crutches when he appeared before magistrate Vinny Gobind.
The police were searching for the suspect for nearly nine years when he was eventually arrested in Barcelona, Etwatwa, on March 17.
His April 29 appearance in court was in absentia as he was still in hospital recovering from being shot in the leg by police when he tried to evade arrest.
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DNA
The police have confirmed DNA tests link the suspect to about 60 rapes in Ekurhuleni, some dating back to 2012. The women were between the ages of 12 and 40.
National SAPS spokesperson Brig Vish Naidoo said following his arrest, a DNA report linked the suspect to these cases in various policing precincts, including Batho, Crystal Park, Daveyton, Etwatwa and Putfontein.
“Since his arrest, several victims have come forward with additional information to assist the team’s investigations.
“While the team is still hard at work in analysing the suspect’s modus operandi through the police’s Investigative Psychology Section, the possibility of linking the suspect to additional cases cannot be ruled out at this stage.
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“With the inclusion of the analysis of the modus operandi, the suspect could be linked to about 40 other cases, bringing the total number of cases to nearly 100.”
Naidoo said the suspect was arrested through the collaboration of a multi-disciplinary task team comprising various components within the SAPS led by the Gauteng Family Violence, Child Protection, and Sexual Offences Investigations detectives.
