Police in Cape Town are searching for a man who allegedly raped a 16-year-old schoolgirl at gunpoint in Lower Crossroads on May 8. The unidentified man is believed to be in his late twenties or early thirties, around 1.6m tall and he spoke isiXhosa to his victim.
Police have released an identikit of the suspect who was armed with a firearm at the time of the incident and had a tattoo of a cross on his neck. The Mitchells Plain Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit have compiled the identikit with the help of the victim.
Anyone who has any information about the attack is urged to contact the Mitchells Plain FCS unit on +27 82 522 1066 or Crime Stop on 08600 10111.
Meanwhile, South African Minister of Police Bheki Cele released crime statistics on Tuesday May 30 which showed some decreases in rape offences but he insisted that rape remains a major problem in the country. Despite decreases in reported rape cases across six provinces, statistics showed that 10,512 people had been raped in the first three months of 2023.
Almost half of the reported rapes took place at the victim’s home or the home of the perpetrator. The Minister welcomed the declines in some crime categories but urged caution in interpreting the figures as a victory.
