National Police Commissioner, General Bheki Cele, has praised the excellent detective work of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) which resulted in the "Muldersdrift serial rapist" being convicted on six (6) counts of rape and other charges in the Krugersdorp Regional Court today.
Phophi, 34 years of age, was charged with the rape of five adult women and the attempted rape of one adult woman, who managed to escape from him, as well as the rape of an eight year old child. All the attacks took place in the Muldersdrift area, Gauteng.
The accused was arrested on 2 June 2010 by members of the Investigative Psychology Unit of the SAPS within two weeks of the case being assigned to them.
Despite Phophi's ludicrous defence that he was a male prostitute and the victims were his "clients", good detective work and solid evidence proved to be his downfall. He was also found guilty on two counts of theft and three counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
"As combating crimes against women and children is - and always will be - a priority for the SAPS, I must commend all police officials involved in this investigation and arrest on a job very well done. We must keep up the pressure and squeeze the space for the perpetrators of these heinous acts so that there is no room for them to hide," said General Cele.
On Thursday, 9 June 2011 the magistrate will give full judgement on each count at the Krugersdrop Regional Court.
Enquiries:
Brigadier Sally de Beer
Cell: 082 779 865
