A member of the South African Police Service in Free State abandoned bail when he appeared in court for allegedly raping a teenager.
Nhlanhla Maseko appeared in the Viljoenskroon magistrate’s court on Tuesday after a 15-year-old girl opened a case of rape against him.
The case was postponed to September 27 for the director of public prosecutions to make a decision. Maseko was remanded in custody until his next date in court.
Robbie Raburabu, spokesperson for the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, said the 38-year-old officer allegedly raped the girl on August 7.
“He left with her from her grandmother’s [place] in Ramulotsi under false pretense that he was taking her to the police station for questioning,” said Raburabu.
“He is alleged to have taken her to a secluded place towards Kroonstad where he raped her. The victim later opened a case of rape and the suspect was arrested.”
Announcing the crime statistics on Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said there had been a slight drop in murder and sexual crimes between April and June.
The statistics showed that the murder rate decreased by 3.1% while sexual crimes fell by 2.1% in the reporting period.
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