Five cops accused of raping women, girls
Five police officers – three from the Western
Cape and two from Gauteng – are accused of raping women they were tasked with
protecting.
All five have appeared in court. Two of the Cape
officers appeared before a Worcester magistrate yesterday.
A spokesman for the Independent Police
Investigative Directorate said one of the suspects is a 28-year-old constable
based at Touwsriver police station.
It is alleged that he arrested a woman for
“notorious behaviour” on Saturday morning and then raped her in a police
vehicle parked on a school’s premises. Dlamini said the police officer drove
the alleged victim home.
A 46-year-old police captain also appeared in the
Worcester Magistrate’s Court charged with raping a woman in a police vehicle
last month.
Dlamini said the officer is alleged to have
threatened to shoot the victim and her son if they reported the assault to the
police.
Last week a 41-year-old policeman appeared in the
Paarl Magistrate’s Court charged with raping a 14-year-old girl on a number of
occasions in April. The warrant officer is said to be a priest and a close friend
of the victim’s family.
“The suspect allegedly raped the victim at home
twice, without a condom. On another day, the suspect allegedly took the victim,
who was on her way to school, to his house and raped her there,” Dlamini said.
In Gauteng, a 30-year-old constable was arrested in
Vereeniging for allegedly kidnapping and raping a 13-year-old girl on July 2.
It is alleged that the victim was walking home with
a child relative when the officer, based at Ennerdale police station,
pepper-sprayed them. It is thought that one of the girls fell while running
away and was forced into the suspect’s car and later raped.
Another policeman appeared in the Randburg Regional
Court, in Johannesburg, on a string of charges, including 14 of rape.
He has been in custody since last year.
