Rhodes Memorial rape-accused abandons bail application

A 35-year-old man charged with the rape of a University of Cape Town (UCT) student abandoned his bail application on Friday.

The man‚ who was arrested on Saturday‚ appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court and the case was postponed to May 17.

He faces multiple counts of rape‚ attempted murder‚ kidnapping and robbery.

Police believe he could be linked to a series of other attacks in the Rhodes Memorial area.

Four UCT students have been raped in the area since November. The suspect is charged with a rape in November.

In the latest attack‚ a 28-year-old student was jogging on the Princess Ann cycling path on Tuesday last week when she was threatened with a knife. She was raped repeatedly over a 24-hour period before managing to escape and find help.

It was revealed in court on Friday that the suspect had previous convictions‚ but the prosecution did not say what were they for.

The man was arrested at a hide-out on the slopes of Table Mountain after UCT offered a R100000 reward last week.

State prosecutor Alecia Meredith said on Monday‚ when the suspect first appeared‚ that a formal identification parade had been scheduled for this week.