- The 45-year-old man accused of raping two minor girls in a hotel in Tshwane on Friday has told the court that he wants to plead guilty.
- The man has been charged with two counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping.
- Police have also revealed that the accused is a convicted rapist and was on parole at the time when these crimes were allegedly committed.
The 45-year-old man accused of raping two minor girls in a hotel in Tshwane, who is a convicted rapist, has told the court that he wants to plead guilty.
The man, whose identity cannot be revealed as he is related to one of the victims, made his first appearance in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday after he was arrested on Friday.
It is alleged that the accused picked up the victims, aged 11 and 13, from Lotus Gardens in Attridgeville on Friday, took them to a liquor store in Pretoria West and then made his way to the CBD where he rented a hotel room.
There, it's alleged that he raped both victims.
In a statement, Gauteng police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said the youngest victim managed to escape and alerted people in the hotel.
"Hotel security were alerted, and police were called in and subsequently arrested the suspect who was still in the hotel room," Peters said.
A video of people questioning the accused in the hotel room, presumably before police arrived on scene, has since gone viral on social media.
Police also revealed that the accused was previously convicted and served time in prison for rape and was on parole when he was arrested.
Police did not say how long the accused had been in prison for prior to being released, what imprisonment term he was sentenced to, or the age of the victim.
Guilty plea
Speaking in Zulu, the accused told the court that he did not want to waste the court's time and wants to plead guilty to the charges.
According to the charge sheet, the accused has been charged with two counts of rape and two counts of kidnapping.
After a short adjournment, the accused then told the court that he wanted to use the services of Legal Aid and apply for bail.
The matter was postponed to 7 December for a formal bail application.
As the accused left the dock, members of the public pleaded with the magistrate to not grant bail, while family members of one of the victims wept uncontrollably.
Welcomed arrest
The acting commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Major-General Patricia Rampota welcomed the arrest and reminded the investigators to work closely with the prosecutors towards building a watertight case in the best interest of justice for the minor victims.
She further assured the public that the police are committed to upholding the rights of victims of gender-based and domestic violence and femicide and will prioritise the investigation of all crimes committed where women, children, and other vulnerable persons are the victims.
"Our communities are encouraged to familiarise themselves with SAPS [South African Police Service] systems that are in place to ensure that the community receives optimum service delivery at all times, towards restoring public confidence in the service," Rampota said.
"The SAPS Service Complaints Centre is accessible to the public to lodge complaints that can vary from poor service delivery regarding response time, investigations, police negligence, police misconduct, and general complaints against the SAPS members."