Alleged rapist of student hands himself over to cops

ONE of the men who allegedly abducted, raped and beat a secondyear Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University student with a pole before leaving her for dead in bushes near Schoenmakerskop has handed himself over to police.

At the time, authorities said the brutal attack had chilling similarities to the kidnap, rape and attempted murder of Alison Botha 22 years ago.

The man, whose picture was released to the media, appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on charges of abduction, rape and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.

According to the police, the man, 31, who will be named only after he pleads in court, was arrested at the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit office yesterday morning.

Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse Van Rensburg said he had arrived with his lawyer before being taken to court to be charged.

The man, who has been on the run for almost two months, will remain in custody until Wednesday, when he will apply for bail.

Janse van Rensburg said it was not yet known why he had handed himself over now. “The other two men involved are still on the run and have not yet been arrested,” she said.

The NMMU student, who cannot be named as she is the victim of a sexual crime, was abducted after a night out at Cafe Loxion in Parliament Street in Central at about 2am.

She was driven to Victoria Drive and allegedly raped and beaten before being left for dead.