A suspect serving a 15-year rape sentence escaped from lawful custody and allegedly committed another rape while fleeing the cops. The next day, he was detained again in Gauteng.
On Thursday, the suspect fled from a healthcare institution where he was receiving medical treatment. He is now serving a 15-year term for a rape that occurred in 2021.
A task team led by Sergeant Mpikiti Thaele was formed immediately to track down and apprehend the culprit, according to South African Police Service (SAPS) spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Mavela Masondo.
“While out tracing the whereabouts of the escapee Sergeant Thaele received information on Friday night, 4 February 2022 that a woman had been allegedly raped at Henley on Klip train station in Meyerton,” said Masondo.
The 33-year-old victim told Thaele that she was attacked and raped while on her way home from work and the vivid description she gave of the alleged perpetrator matched the suspect.
Sergeant Thaele arrested the escaped rape suspect within hours of the incident in Henley-on-Klip in Meyerton.
“The re-arrested escapee is linked to the rape incident that occurred earlier that night and further investigation in this regard is still underway,” said the police spokesperson.
The provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela lauded Thaele’s efforts.