Staff Reporter
An 86-year-old woman from Bethlehem in the eastern Free State was reportedly raped at knife-point last week after an unknown man broke into her home and threatened her before fleeing with cash and several items.
Provincial police spokesperson Brigadier Sam Makhele said in a statement released Wednesday that the elderly woman was alone in the house when the incident occurred.
“According to allegations, the victim . . . was watching TV in her bedroom on Thursday 28 May . . . at about 23:30 when she heard a sound of a breaking window and was suddenly confronted by the suspect,” Makhele said in the statement.
“He threatened her with a knife and continued to tear her clothes with the same knife before he (raped) her,” added the police spokesperson.
After raping the elderly woman, the suspect is said to have ordered her to open the door for him.
The daring suspect then took an undisclosed amount of cash from her and some groceries before disappearing into the night.
The woman eventually sought help from her neighbour and police were immediately called.
No one has been arrested and Bethlehem police detectives are investigating a case of rape and house robbery.
Meanwhile, in another case, Stephen Zulu Tlake from Bohlokong in Bethlehem has been slapped with a 25-year-jail term for raping a woman in 2015.
The Bethlehem Regional Court heard that Zulu raped the woman, who was aged 17 years old at the time, together with an accomplice who is still at large.
According to the state, the woman was coming from a tavern on September 6, 2015 when she met Zulu and his accomplice.
The two pulled her to a secluded area and repeatedly raped her.
The complainant opened a case though she didn’t know the suspects at the time.
One of the suspects was later linked through DNA from other cases of rape he was being accused of.
The woman was then able to identify Zulu through an identity parade in 2018.
He was formally charged and was found guilty of rape.