Police in Limpopo have arrested a man who used a fake Facebook account and lured a young woman whom he allegedly repeatedly raped.
“On Monday a fast-thinking and vigilant member of the public acted quickly to alert police about a female friend who was lured under false pretences, kidnapped and raped repeatedly,” police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said
The male friend reported to police that his female friend had fallen prey to a dating scam in which the suspect was using a fake Facebook account to lure women.
“He allegedly takes women from Gauteng to Limpopo on false promises of employment opportunities.”
Limpopo police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe was contacted and immediately mobilised a team to search for the victim.
“Within five hours of establishing the search party, the victim and kidnapper were traced to a filling station in Giyani, Limpopo, where the con man had run out of petrol and did not have funds to fill up his motor vehicle.”
Mathe said according to the victim, the kidnapper goes by the name of Jeff Rals on Facebook and uses a picture and identity that belong to someone else.
The suspect met the victim in Pretoria and immediately when the victim realised that the individual looked different from his Facebook profile, the suspect lied and said he was a driver sent by his brother Jeff Rals to pick her up.
The scammer then drove to Limpopo with the victim under false pretences and proceeded to allegedly rape her repeatedly at his homestead.
“The SAPS takes this opportunity to warn online dating users to be extra cautious and not be so trusting. Online dating scams can often lead to requests to meet online lovers which could result in a kidnapping incident.
“These scammers often make the victim feel as though they have a genuine relationship. Once trust has been established, the scammer often requests money or to meet the victim, which results in kidnapping, as in this case,” Mathe said.
She urged others who fell victim to the fake Facebook impostor to come forward.
“The young woman is being reunited with her family today and the suspect is in police custody and charged with rape and kidnapping.”
TimesLIVE
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