Pretoria - Students from the University of Pretoria have joined forces with Hatfield residents to help police arrest a university postgraduate student accused of rape.
According to police, a group of about 400 students staged a protest demanding the arrest of an alleged rapist.
This comes after outrage was sparked over a Twitter post about a rape suspect that was residing in one of the flats in Hatfield. A 19-year-old student laid charges at the Brooklyn police station.
Brooklyn police spokesperson, Captain Colette Weilbach, said the victim alleged she was raped by the suspect believed to be a friend. The rape suspect, at the time, stayed at the same building she was residing in.
“After the case was opened, the police with the help of the Hatfield City Improvement District immediately responded and arrested the alleged suspect.”
Weilbach said the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigations unit was investigating the case further.
University spokesperson, Rikus Delport, confirmed that the alleged perpetrator was a postgraduate student of theirs.
Delport said the university was currently in contact with the police to get more information.
“The University of Pretoria takes violence, sexual assault and rape extremely seriously. Every student and staff member has the right to feel secure whether on or off-campus.”
“Once a police case has been opened, the University will begin its own disciplinary process, which runs independently of the police and continues until a finding can be made based on our own policies and procedures.”
The 22-year-old student is due to appear in the Pretoria magistrates court on Wednesday.