Polokwane man who lured women with fake tattoo business convicted on four counts of rape

The Polokwane High Court in Limpopo has convicted a 21-year-old man on four counts of rape of young women between the ages of 15 and 22.

Mehlodi Robert Baloyi from Extension 71 lured his victims by pretending to be a tattoo artist. The accused advertised the fake tattoo business on social media.

Provincial National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Mashudu-Malabi Dzhangi says Baloyi was also convicted on two other charges.

“The case of a Facebook tattoo serial rapist has been postponed for sentencing in Limpopo Polokwane High Court. The accused, Mehlodi Robert Baloyi, was convicted for robbery with aggravating circumstances, theft and four counts of rape of young girls. It was the evidence in court that Baloyi placed his tattoo advertisement on Facebook page pretending to be an artist. He lured girls to his home, robbing them of money and mobile phones before raping them.”

Ndwedwe rapist sentenced to three life terms

Meanwhile, the Verulam Regional Court in the north of Durban has sentenced Vusimuzi Dladla to three life terms and 25 years for rape and robbery in Ndwedwe.

In 2018, Dladla broke into a house where he, along with a second suspect who was not been arrested, stole belongings, and then proceeded to rape two teenage girls.

State Prosecutor Ishara Sewnarayan led the testimonies of the girls who told the court that they are scared of men and are still haunted by the incident.

KwaZulu-Natal NPA spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says: “The Verulam Regional Court sentenced Vusimuzi Isaac Dladla (41), to three terms of life and 25 years imprisonment for the housebreaking, rapes and robbery he and another man committed in Ndwedwe in November 2018. The victims (aged 13 and 15) were at home alone with three other minor children, while their mother was out attending a night church service. The men broke into the house, armed with knives, and demanded money and cell phones from the children. The other man then took one of the girls outside and raped her, thereafter, Dladla took the other girl outside and did the same. Dladla then raped the girl that his accomplice had initially raped.”

-Additional reporting by Nonkululeko Hlophe