Update: Suspect arrested for Dr Havinga girl’s assault
A teacher recognised his face and vehicle when she drove past a church
A man, 26, has been arrested this morning (Wednesday 22 April) for allegedly attempting to murder a female pupil of Laerskool Dr Havinga on the school grounds this year.
This morning at around 9.30 am the Roodepoort police made the arrest in Lindhaven. It is understood that investigations led by the Western Suburbs Roodepoort Neighbourhood Watch (WSRNW) made the arrest possible.
The Grade 6-pupil, 12, was attacked by a man in mid-March this year on the second floor of one of the school buildings. She was allegedly threatened and the man attempted to strangle her. When she started screaming, the suspect ran away. At the time, the governing body’s chair Ona Steyn told the Record that the man had personnel under the impression that he is a parent that is fetching his child.
Roodepoort Police spokesperson Nonhlanhla Khumalo at the time said that two men stopped at the school in a white Jetta without registration plates. They told people that they’re looking for a child’s backpack. Khumalo said his motives were not clear but was being investigated.
The incident was captured on CCTV footage which was later handed over to the Roodepoort Police.
A teacher recognised his face and vehicle when she drove past a church last night, WSRNW spokesperson Matthys van Rensburg told the Record. She alerted patrollers to the church and they eventually managed to catch on to the man’s route back home. They confronted him on South Road but could not arrest him as a warrant had not been issued.
Their detective work concluded this morning when a warrant for his arrest was issued and Roodepoort Police confronted him at the house.
“Thank you to our dedicated patrollers for their assistance in the case,” Van Rensburg said.
He will appear in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court on charges of attempted murder on Friday 24 April.
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