A Port Elizabeth man accused of the abduction and rape of two girls, aged five and six, made his first court appearance on Tuesday.
The man was arrested last Thursday after the girls were reported missing the previous afternoon.
Police found the six-year-old girl in the early hours of Thursday morning in an open piece of ground next to the Chevrolet Stadium where she had been assaulted and stabbed and left for dead.
The missing five-year-old girl was found in the bed of the 49-year-old suspect, who even helped community members search for the children.
Police spokesperson, Captain Andre’ Beetge, said the girls had been playing in the street in Chris Hani township on Wednesday (20 Sep) afternoon when they were abducted.
He said when the girls did not return home by 6 pm their parents and members of the community started looking for them.
They eventually contacted police who launched a massive search involving police helicopters and the K9-unit.
Beetge said the six-year-old girl was found shortly after midnight on that Wednesday, severely assaulted with stab wounds to her head.
He said the child was able to give police enough information which eventually led them to the suspect's shack where they found the five-year-old girl in the suspect’s bed.
The case against the man was postponed to 5 October and he remains in custody.
