The effort to track down and arrest a man dubbed the Etwatwa serial rapist has been escalated by Gauteng police.
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For nine years, the unknown suspect has outsmarted authorities in Ekurhuleni. Since the first known case was reported in 2012, not a single shred of evidence has yielded any clues on who the Etwatwa serial rapist could be.
It seems the last resort taken by Ekurhuleni authorities is an expanded media campaign, calling on the public to assist in the investigation.
Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo, in an eNCA interview, revealed that a team of top-tier detectives has been formed to tackle the case after the suspect attacked his most recently known victim a week ago, in Crystal Park.
“The suspect is operating mostly in Ekurhuleni, in areas like Etwatwa, Daveyton, Putfontein and Crystal Park,” Masondo said.
Etwatwa serial rapist: Everything we know about the suspect
What’s more chilling about this case is the fact that the serial rapist has camouflaged himself in Ekurhuleni’s community all these years.
With the bits of information gathered thus far, police believe turning to the public to jog a memory could be their best bet in removing the suspect off the streets before he strikes again.
This composite sketch was released last week, showing a black male, possibly in his late twenties, with a distinctive scar on his left cheek.
According to Masondo, the Etwatwa serial rapist is believed to be roaming the area around Van Ryn Road, in Crystal Park, his latest hunting grounds where he struck three victims in the last three weeks.
The image below shows the back profile of the suspect. Masondo revealed the picture was taken shortly after he had attacked his most recent victim last week.
“We strongly believe that there might be other people that have seen him on that day, or there might be people that recognise him from that picture,” he said.
Masondo stressed the public to be on the lookout for a male of muscular build with a scar on his left cheek and bowed legs. A cash reward is on offer for anyone who can point authorities in the right direction.
