A convicted serial s3xual offender who posed as a job recruiter to lure and attack female jobseekers has been arrested in South Africa.
The suspect was arrested by members of Reaction Unit South Africa (RUSA) in Phoenix, KZN and handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) on Sunday, October 12, 2025.
The arrest took place following a search launched by Reaction Officers on Friday after two women approached an officer requesting assistance.
The victims reported that they had each received a phone call from an unknown man offering them employment and arranging to meet them the following morning on Fernham Drive in Westham, Phoenix – KZN.
During the meeting, the suspect claimed to have secured positions for the women as kitchen staff and led them on foot towards what he said was the workplace. Near Gandhi Park on Phoenix Highway in Phoenix – KZN, he diverted them to an isolated pathway, allegedly to take a shortcut.
Out of public view, the man then reportedly robbed both women of their cellphones and s3xually assaulted one of them. The women managed to escape and fled to seek assistance. Despite an immediate search by Reaction Officers, no arrest was made at the time.
Officers patrolling near Gandhi Park on Sunday noticed a neatly dressed man with distinctive facial scars matching the description provided by the victims. Upon questioning, and after confirming his identity with one of the victims, the suspect was restrained.
During an interrogation, he revealed that he is originally from Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape and has been living as a vagrant in Phoenix – KZN since June 2025.
He admitted to approaching women under the guise of helping them secure employment, then luring them to remote locations where he would rob and sexually assault them.
He obtained contact numbers of his victims by approaching random pedestrians, informing them that he could arrange employment for family and friends.
Unsuspecting individuals would provide contact numbers after he convinced them that a telephonic interview would have to be conducted prior to meeting them personally.
Detectives from the Phoenix Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) Unit were called to the scene and confirmed that the suspect is linked to multiple r@pe cases in the Brookdale and Gandhi Park – KZN areas.
He had previously been imprisoned for s3xual assault and robbery, and was released from prison in May 2025.
The suspect is currently detained at SAPS Phoenix in KZN.
