George woman abducted in broad daylight and raped for days

01 Feb 2016 | Admin Author

George police have turned to the public for assistance after the recent kidnapping and rape of a young George woman who was abducted in broad daylight while shopping in the town's business centre.
The 19-year-old local was leaving a shop in Hibernia Street - a busy street home to several clothing and furniture shops - when she suddenly lost consciousness. When she later woke up, she found herself tied up in a bungalow, being held captive by a man in a grey suit and a neatly dressed woman.

Police spokesman Captain Bernadine Steyn said the young woman was held in the bungalow for four days, while the man allegedly raped her. The female suspect later drove the victim to a spot along the N2 highway between Sedgefield and George where she left her at the side of the road.

Although the woman was abducted on May 21, police are no closer to solving the crimes. Steyn said police were however on the lookout for a black vehicle with the word "diva" printed on the rear window.

The George family violence, child protection and sexual offences unit has therefore turned to the public for assistance for any information and to be on the lookout for the vehicle.
The victim was also unable to identify her captors.

Although Steyn said they could also not speculate about how the woman lost consciousness, founder of the Masimanyane Women Support Centre Dr Lesley Ann Foster said she had come across several similar cases over the years and that the modus operandi usually involved drugging the victim.
"They wouldn't even know they had been drugged. These brazen criminals would bump into their victim and, inject the drug without them realising it. The effects are almost immediate," Foster said.

She added a family member had also fallen victim to a similar crime in Seapoint in Cape Town recently. "She was having drinks at a bar and the next moment she was naked in the house of a man she had never met before. She remembered nothing of incident and couldn't even recall feeling sick."

In East London a woman was abducted after leaving a busy Steers restaurant in Oxford Street. She too suddenly lost consciousness and when she woke up she had been raped and was married to a man she had never met.

Foster added the fact that the George abduction happened in broad daylight in a busy area indicated that the perpetrators were most likely not first time offenders. "Usually they wouldn't start with such a brazen crime. By releasing her days after being raped also shows that they are intelligent and planned the crime carefully. They knew exactly what they were doing as the lifespan of sperm, which could connect them to the crime, is only 72 hours."

If anyone has information that could help police investigating officer Constable Ann Janse can be contacted on 044-803-4618.