‘He stole her innocence’ – Ethiopian National arrested on charges of rape
A 16-year-old girl has laid a charge against an Ethiopian national who allegedly raped her at gunpoint.
The girl’s grandmother told www.mobserver.co.za that her granddaughter was hitchhiking to eMalahleni when the man offered her a lift.
Instead of heading to the R555, he detoured to Gholfsig, where he demanded the girl to strip naked before raping her.
The man fled the scene after the incident, fortunately, the 16-year-old was able to memorise his vehicle registration number.
Police traced the registration number to a man in Rockdale.
The vehicle owner told the police that he had sold the car to the Ethiopian man. He then led the police to the suspect.
The accused was arrested in Extension 5, Mhluzi.
Since the ordeal, the girl has been unable to attend school.
The grandmother says her granddaughter is struggling to come to terms with what happened, “That man stole her innocence, the trauma has changed her,” said the distressed woman.
• The accused made a brief appearance at the Middelburg Magistrate Court on Tuesday.
According to law, he can not be identified before he pleads on the charge.
The case was postponed to a later date.
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