A 40-year-old man has been arrested on the East Rand for allegedly raping about 40 girls between the ages of 10 and 14, Gauteng police said

The man was arrested in Edenpark around 2am on Tuesday, said Lt-Col Lungelo Dlamini.

“This happened after one of the victims followed him to his place of residence and later informed the investigating officer.”    

The girls, from Katlehong, Thokoza and Vosloorus, were allegedly  lured to an open veld and raped between 2007 and 2011.

“After his arrest, an identity parade was held with several victims who positively identified him,” said Dlamini.

He said the victims were all raped in a similar way and under the same circumstances, and the DNA results from all the girls had been linked to him. Blood would be drawn for forensic analysis.

The man’s modus operandi was to find young girls playing on the street and separate them by sending them in different directions.

He would then take one of them to a veld and rape her at gunpoint.

He also allegedly followed girls from shops or shopping malls and accused them of using counterfeit money.

“He would tell them that he had been instructed to stop them and  [that they] would be arrested. While pretending to help them to avoid the arrest, he would take them to an open veld and rape them.”   

The man was expected to appear in the Alberton Magistrate’s Court on Friday.

“Police will oppose bail to continue with the investigation and hold further identification parades,” Dlamini said.