No clarity on Tafelsig rape suspect’s arrest

POLICE have not yet confirmed if the man suspected of raping a nine-year-old Tafelsig girl has been arrested.

Follow-up enquiries relating to the vigilante attack on a pensioner from Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain have proven fruitless. Police would not confirm if the man was arrested after the mob justice attack in Freedom Park on Friday evening.

Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said a case of sexual assault was opened at the Mitchells Plain police station last Thursday.

“(We) can confirm a case of sexual assault was opened at Mitchells Plain SAPS for investigation. According to reports, a nine-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in Tafelsig.

“A male suspect was allegedly pointed out and when members attended to the crime scene, the alleged suspect was assaulted by the community. When members attempted to remove (the) suspect from the scene, they were pelted with stones,” Van Wyk said.

The suspect was then taken to a nearby medical facility for medical attention and the investigation is ongoing, he added.

The suspect, who lives three doors from the victim’s family, was beaten to within an inch of his life by residents on Friday evening.

Mitchells Plain Impact Association (MPIA) chairperson Joanie Fredericks said the attack happened after the victim’s grandparent reported the rape last Thursday.

Fredericks said they are unsure of where the suspect is and whether he was arrested after incensed residents gathered at the suspect’s home to beat him severely on Friday just after 8pm.

“At the moment we are still unsure of the whereabouts of the suspect and if he was arrested after receiving medical attention. We are adamant to receive answers because MPIA wants to attend the suspect’s first court appearance to show our support for the victim. We are still investigating,” Fredericks said.