Man arrested after allegedly attempting to kidnap boy

A 48-year-old man was arrested last week after allegedly attempting to kidnap a 14-year-old schoolboy. The man grabbed the boy by the arm and attempted to force him into his vehicle. The boy managed to break free from the suspect’s grasp and run to his friend’s house, which luckily was nearby, reports Vaal Weekblad.

According to the boy’s mother, the victim is extremely traumatised after the incident.

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“My son was playing in the park near our house and was on his way home at around 5pm when a man in a bakkie stopped next to him. The man asked how well my son knows the area and asked for directions to a shopping centre. The man then asked if my son wanted to make a bit of money and if he knows how to kiss. My son realised he needed to get out of the situation, but when he turned around to walk away, the man grabbed him by the arm and tried to force him into his car.

“When we went to fetch my son from his friend’s house, we could immediately see he was in a state. He did not want to talk about the incident but slowly began to open up and tell us what happened. We are certain the man wanted to kidnap my son.

“On the way to the police station to lay a charge against the subject, my son saw the suspect in his bakkie near our house. We followed the bakkie to Transvalia High School but lost him after that. We also reported the incident on a group chat, where we asked anyone with information regarding the suspect and his bakkie to come forward to trace the suspect. Eventually, we were able to find his address.

“We initially struggled to open a case, but Vanderbiljpark’s Brig. Nikiwe Hoaeane was very sympathetic and stood by us to open a case of attempted kidnapping.”

The suspect, a married white male with two young children, was arrested at his house by Inspector Gibbs Gerber. He is still in custody and will appear in the Vanderbijlpark magistrate’s court later this month.

Vaalweekblad also confirmed that there has been another charge laid against the suspect after a young boy and girl came forward with accusations that the man also tried to lure them into his vehicle.

This article was translated from Afrikaans by Nica Schreuder. 

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