Police hunting a serial rapist are warning members of the public, women in particular, to be on their guard.
The warning comes after a man’s reign of terror, thought to have begun in November, saw several women complaining of a man who coaxed them into secluded spots where he then raped and robbed them of their belongings, within both policing precincts.
The Boksburg police said they believe that the same man, who is said to be part of a Facebook account called ‘Nay Maps Mxolisi From Uzalo’, has allegedly been responsible for raping at least eight women.
According to the Boksburg SAPS spokesperson, Const Ntsako Ledwaba, the alleged serial rapist targets female Facebook users and gains his victims’ trust with talks of a job opportunities or love affairs.
Ledwaba pointed out that the rapist’s modus operandi is the same in all the cases.
“He meets women on Facebook, gains their confidence and promises them a job or a happy romantic relationship. He smooths talks his prospective victims to travel from their respective places to ‘his place’ in Boksburg.
“Once the victims arrive at the local taxi rank, he then sends someone else to go and meet with them at the taxi rank. Once the victims have met with the messenger, the rapist calls and persuades them to take another taxi with the messenger saying they were travelling to his place.
“The unsuspecting victims agree and once the taxi reaches Boksburg, the messenger and the victims alight in the middle of nowhere before they find themselves in the secluded areas where they are then raped and robbed,” explained Ledwaba.
In the latest incident, the rapist convinced the woman that he had a job for her.
“He got her to travel from her area to Germiston Taxi Rank. Once at the taxi rank, the rapist sent another man to go fetch her. They both boarded a taxi travelling to Boksburg but when the taxi reached Witfield, the messenger and the victim alighted along Main Reef Road in Witfield.
“He got her to walk with him along the gravel footpath through the thick bushes between Witfield and Jerusalem and Angelo informal settlements. While walking along the area, the messenger told the woman that they have taken a ‘short cut’, and kept on telling her that it was not far to go and pointed to the houses in the distance, saying that’s where Nay Maps’ place was.
“All of a sudden, the rapist appeared. He then took the victim’s cellphone, ask her to strip naked, and raped her in the bushes. After raping her, he instructed her to run away and never look behind,” said Ledwaba.
The woman reported the attack.
These cases are being investigated by the district’s FCS unit, and detectives were not immediately available to provide the spokesperson with the full description of the rapist, such as a compiled identikit of the suspect with an estimated age, height, complexion and language.
Ledwaba said there have not been any new leads but the investigations are ongoing.
The police believe that the suspect and his accomplice live around the city and are appealing for any person who may know or suspect who is responsible to make contact.
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