A man accused of raping six schoolgirls was arrested on Saturday. 

The 29-year-old is believed to have met the girls, aged between 11 and 15, as they made their way to school in the Maqhashu area, near Cacadu, in the Eastern Cape.

“It is alleged that the young girls were on their way to school on October 15 2019, when they met the suspect, who allegedly raped the girls and threatened them that they should not report it,” said police spokesperson Capt Namhla Mdleleni.

The parents of one of the victims later noticed “suspicious symptoms” in their daughter and told the police, who activated a 72-hour plan to catch the alleged rapist. 

The man will appear in the Cacadu magistrate’s court this week.