Police had launched an appeal to establish the whereabouts of the student after she was charged for perjury.
She was located and arrested in Katlehong, on Thursday April 7, after being on the run for more than two months.
The student is expected to appear in court this week.
The charge stems from a rape allegation that she lodged against three unknown men on February 1.
The teenager arrived at the police station and told police officers that she and her two schoolmates were allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped.
An officer helped her to complete a rape complaint, and investigations were immediately initiated.
The Gauteng SAPS deployed more teams and a police helicopter across the bushy areas to search for the two missing women and the thugs.
Also involved in the search were the Dog Unit, an SAPS search-and-rescue team and the Reiger Park SAPS.
The woman stated that they were walking home from the school, along Archie Jonas Street, when they were allegedly abducted by four armed men on Saturday afternoon, January 30.
Her account even included the car in which the attackers were driving – a white van. She described the attackers as three coloured men and one black man, who pulled over next to them in the van and abducted them at gunpoint.
The woman told the police that the thugs drove them to a nearby isolated area, where they were then tied with ropes, drugged and held hostage, before the attackers repeatedly took turns to rape them throughout the weekend.
She claimed that she managed to untie the rope and escape at about 3am, on Monday, February 1, adding that the attackers opened fire on her as she was fleeing from their clutches.
The woman also told the police that the other two women were still being held hostage in the bushes, but she did not remember where exactly.
Shortly thereafter, detectives contacted the families of the other two women who were supposedly kidnapped and discovered that they were actually at home with their families.
That’s when the investigators began to doubt the complainant’s version of events, as they found some inconsistencies with the statement.
The two students told the police that they had no idea what the third woman had told the police, and indicated that they were never abducted or gang raped, as reported by their schoolmate.
The women came forward and told the police that the third woman probably fabricated the story.
It is believed the student did this so that she would not get into trouble with her parents for not coming home over the weekend.
Detectives determined through the investigation that the statement provided by the teenager was not truthful, and this led them to open a perjury docket.
Reiger Park SAPS spokesperson Sgt Mashudu Phathela said the student at the time appeared traumatised, with untidy hair and clothes, which was probably done in an attempt to convince police officers that she had been attacked at gunpoint and raped.
“Although her story hadn’t hurt anyone, her behaviour is unacceptable and is a punishable offence,” Phathela said.
He admitted that they have, in the past, encountered similar problems where people have come to the station to file false reports, accusing someone of a crime they have not committed.
He added that the time has come to deal with this problem with an iron hand.-@FanieFLK
