A 31-YEAR-OLD pastor was arrested seven months after he allegedly raped a 16-year-old girl in the Sugarbush locality, Mount Ayliff, in the Eastern Cape, police said on Sunday.
Spokesperson Brigadier Tembinkosi Kinana said the man believed to be a pastor was arrested on Saturday.
"The information suggests that the victim was at home with young children during the day, when the alleged pastor of the local church arrived asking for the parents. The report further indicates that he left and returned again in the evening and stayed until late when other children had gone to sleep.
"He allegedly used the opportunity to grab the 16-year-old girl and raped her. The incident occurred in September 2021, but the child did not report it at the time," Brigadier Kinana said.
"The circumstances surrounding the incident are currently under investigation. The male suspect, aged 31, was subsequently arrested and charged for rape."
The pastor was expected to appear in the Mount Ayliff Magistrate's Court on Monday.
In an unrelated incident, Brigadier Kinana said a 23-year-old man was arrested for alleged rape and assault of a 16-year-old girl.
He said the man was positively linked and arrested in Mount Ayliff on Saturday.
"The arrest follows a week-long investigation, and the suspect is due to appear in Mount Ayliff Magistrate's Court on Monday on charges of rape and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm."
The 16-year-old girl was found on the road side near the forest on April 15 at Cabazana, Mount Ayliff, where she was allegedly raped and stabbed to such an extend that she lost her sight.
The girl was on his way home when the man dragged her to a nearby forest, where she was raped.
"It is also alleged that the suspect did not end there, but continued to stab her in her upper body which resulted to her losing her sight. She was helped by a passer-by who called family members and the ambulance which transported her to a nearby hospital to receive medical attention," Brigadier Kinana said.
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