A 36-year-old man, believed to be a serial rapist targetting women aged 15 to 37, was arrested in a forest near KwaDukuza on Thursday.

The man has been accused of nine rape charges and strings of robberies in Mandeni, KwaDukuza and Tongaat between 2013 and 2016.

Police spokesperson Constable Thenjiswa Ngcobo alleges the accused worked with an assailant who is still at large. The men are reported to have raped women before robbing them of their valuables.

“On 28 January 2013, a 21-year-old woman was walking near a bridge in Darnall when she was approached by two unknown men who dragged her to a nearby bush and raped her,” she said, noting that a case was opened at KwaDukuza SAPS.

“Another woman was walking with her mother-in-law along a sugarcane field on 14 March 2013 when they were accosted by two unknown suspects who raped them.”

The suspect is due to appear before KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court soon.

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