Pretoria - A man dubbed the “Facebook tattoo serial rapist” was convicted in the Limpopo High Court, sitting in Polokwane on four counts of raping various young women after he had lured them to him by placing an advertisement on Facebook, pretending to be a tattoo artist.
The 21- year-old Mehlodi Robert Baloyi, from Extension 71A Polokwane, raped girls between the ages of 15 and 22. His rape spree lasted a year and three months - between July 2019 and October 20202 - before he was eventually arrested.
He was also convicted on a count of robbery with aggravating circumstances and a count of theft.
During the trial, the court heard that Baloyi’s Facebook account was well known as he called himself Captain CJ.
Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson for the Limpopo division, said the court was told that the modis operandi he had followed was that women (the complainants) who read the advertisement contacted the accused and agreed to meet him in his home.
Upon arrival at his residential place, the accused pretended to initiate the crafting of a tattoo. During the process of crafting, he then threatened the victims with steel a instrument and a panga, and forcefully undressed them, before raping them.
After each incident, the accused would take pictures and make video recordings of the victim while naked. He then threatened to post them on social media, if the victims reported the rape to the police.
Baloyi also told one of his victims that he will “invite Zimbabwean men” into the yard, to join him in gang raping and threatened that they will kill and bury her.
He further threatened to traffick the victims and robbed them of mobile phones and money.
According to the victims Baloyi used to escort them out of his residence after he had raped them and he left them at a nearby tuckshop.
The victims told the court that they were all raped on the first occasion when they met Baloyi, Malabi-Dzhangi said.
They all said that instead of getting their tattoos, they ended up being rape victims.
Baloyi, who denied being a rapist, claimed that the women all had consensual sex with him.
The prosecution will argue that Baloyi had carefully planned the crimes.
The case was postponed to Monday (May 30) for pre sentencing procedures.
Pretoria News