The case against a man facing 33 charges of rape and 33 of attempted murder has been adjourned for a few hours.
|||The case against a man facing 33 charges of rape and 33 of attempted murder was adjourned for a few hours by the Alberton Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.
“The defence can't proceed with the bail application and wish to request a copy of the contents of the case docket or the indictment,” Legal Aid Board attorney Londiwe Shange told the court in the morning.
The State objected, saying the indictment and contents of the docket could only be made available for the purposes of plea or trial.
The matter was stood down, and would resume in the afternoon.
The 40-year-old man, who appeared wearing a red T-shirt and blue jeans, cannot be identified until he has pleaded. He is accused of raping 33 girls between the ages of 10 and 14. He also faces 33 counts of attempted murder.
He was arrested in Eden Park at the end of January after one of the his alleged victims followed him to his home and alerted the police.
The girls, who are from Katlehong, Thokoza, and Vosloorus, on the East Rand, were apparently lured into the veld and raped between 2007 and 2011.
During an earlier appearance, the court heard the man had been convicted of rape in 1997 and released from prison in 2005.
Outside court, a small group of protesters gathered under the banner of Women and Men Against Child Abuse. Spokeswoman Vincentia Dlamini said they hoped bail would be opposed and that the man would be sent for psychological observation.
Last month, the Director of Public Prosecutions asked that he be sent to Sterkfontein Psychiatric Hospital. – Sapa