Johannesburg - A 32-year-old pastor is expected to appear in the Lenyenye Magistrate’s Court on Friday, facing five charges of rape and one charge of sexual assault.
The man, from Mariveni village near near Nkowankowa outside Tzaneen, is accused of raping four minors, aged 12, 14, 14, and 16, who were ushers in his Church at Burgersdorp near Tzaneen from December 2016, until August 2017.
He briefly appeared in court on Wednesday, Limpopo police spokesperson Lt-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said. The case awas postponed for the social worker’s report and for further investigations.
“It is alleged that the four victims, aged 12, 14, 14, and 16, who were ushers in the suspect’s Church at Burgersdorp near Tzaneen were raped by a well-known pastor and who is also calling himself a prophet from December 2016, until August 2017,” Ngoepe said at the time.
“Allegations are that this pastor raped all these victims inside the church on different dates after he invited them one by one to come to the church for prayer and while busy praying, he will then attack the victim and rape her.”