A 61-year-old Limpopo man has been arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl.

The incident happened in Motetema near Groblersdal while the victim was allegedly on her way to a spaza shop on Friday afternoon.

Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the girl was sent by her mother at about 6pm when the man allegedly grabbed and took her into the nearby bushes where he allegedly raped her.

He said upon releasing the girl, she went home to inform her mother of her ordeal and the mother “immediately” reported the matter to the police.

“A search ensued but the man was nowhere to be seen. The investigation continued until the suspect was positively identified and arrested on Monday afternoon,” Ngoepe said.

He said the man would appear in the Motetema Magistrate's Court today (Wednesday) on a rape charge.

Ngoepe further condemned the act “especially that it is perpetrated by an adult person who was supposed to protect the girl.”

“Every member of the community must take and consider any child as his or hers and they must participate in child care initiatives instead of harming them,” he added.

He said child safety is a societal responsibility and further encouraged all members of the community to join hands with the police in an endeavour to protect children from any form of abuse.