4 in court after robbery and rape

Three Thembalethu men were arrested on Tuesday 21 August in connection with the house robbery during which a 17-year-old Pacaltsdorp girl was abducted and raped on Sunday 12 August. This brings the total number of suspects arrested to four. The three, aged 19, 20 and 21, are due to appear in the George Magistrate's Court today on charges of housebreaking.

According to Southern Cape police spokesperson Captain Malcolm Pojie, the three men cannot be directly linked to the rape at this stage.

Meanwhile a 19-year-old Thembalethu man who briefly appeared in the

George Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 21 August on provisional charges of rape, abduction and aggravated robbery remains in custody and is due to appear in court again on 5 September for a formal bail application.

The kidnapping, which took place in the early hours of Sunday 12 August when several men burst into a New Dawn Park home, sent a shock wave through the community. The teenage girl was allegedly forced into a veld where she was raped and she later walked back to the home from where she was kidnapped.

She was taken to the George Hospital's Thuthuzela Care Centre for rape counselling. Cellphones, laptops and clothing items were seized during the robbery.

Three of the four suspects that were initially arrested on Sunday 12 August were released as no evidence could be found to directly link them to the incident.

The teenage girl was allegedly forced into a veld where she was raped and she later walked back to the home from where she was kidnapped.