Clean Cut, Polite and Humble: The Serial Rapist.

You’ve all heard someone say of a particular individual, “He gives me the creeps; I’d run a mile if I bumped into him in a dark alley.”

Or, “I wouldn’t want to be on my own and walk past him in the street late at night.”

Or, “He tries to come across as your average mister nice guy, but there’s something about him that sounds a warning bell right here inside of me.”

Or, “I went on a date with him, and he was full of fun and I enjoyed myself, but a little voice inside kept warning me not to invite him in for a cup of coffee when he drove me home.”

Well I suppose you ladies out there should heed that intuitive inner voice when it sounds a warning. You just never know, you could be right.

However, in the case of the man dubbed the “Naval Rapist” your inner voice would probably be telling you anything but what you should be hearing. People close to him flatly refuse to believe he is capable of the horrific crimes he has been found guilty of committing.

This is Carte Blanche’s report on the Naval Rapist:

Clean cut, polite and humble… that’s how friends and colleagues saw him. But he had a sinister double life. The Cape Flats were the hunting grounds, where he acted out his perverted sexual fantasies. Serial rapists generally lure away just one victim, but this rapist had a different modus operandus. Professor Gerard Lubuschgane is an expert on serial rapists and killers.

Professor Gerard Lubuschgane (Investigative Psychology Unit SAP): “In that regard he is very different from what we normally get. In just about every single instance it was two or more people that he took with him, or forced to go with him.”

One of those was ‘Janet’, not her real name:

‘Janet’ (Rape survivor): “And he says to me that if you want to see your daughter you’re going to do as I tell you.”

John Webb (Carte Blanche presenter): “Harrowing words from a rape survivor. She and multitudes more – men, women and children – were all the victims of a sadistic serial rapist in Cape Town.”

And that man is Tsediso Letsoenya, aged 34, who was a naval seaman with an exemplary community reputation. He was stationed at the Wingfield Naval Base. His neighbours could not believe the news.

Beatrix Papier (Neighbour): “Well, he was a very outstanding guy, everybody likes him, everybody respected him.”

A friend would not accept that Tsediso is a rapist.

Nelisa Mbewu (Friend): “A very humble man. Straight-forward man: I know exactly what kind of a man he is.”

John: “You don’t think he’s capable of raping anyone?”

Nelisa: “Never.”

John: “But on the 10th of March naval seamen Tsediso Letsoenya was found guilty here at the Cape High Court on 28 counts of rape, two of attempted rape, and 28 of indecent assault, making him one of the worst serial rapists in the country’s history.”

Letsoenya in fact faced 104 charges, but there could well have been more. Christenues van der Vijver is the state advocate that headed up the prosecution team. He said that several known victims chose not to testify.

John: “Why do you think that was – because they were scared?”

Christenues van der Vijver (Senior state advocate): “I don’t think so much that they were scared. I think of one or two that told us that in the meantime they got married. Their husbands don’t know what happened to them and obviously [they] didn’t want to reveal that kind of information. There were also one or two ladies that had died since the incident.”

Rape Crisis believes that there were probably far more offences committed.

Kathleen Dey (Director: Rape Crisis Cape Town): “The research by the Medical Research Council shows that only one in nine survivors report rape. If that’s true in this case then it’s possible that he raped nine times as many people as came forward.”

John: “We’ll never know really how many people Letsoenya attacked, but what we do know from the testament of the victims who braved the court process is just what a dangerous man her really is.”

‘Janet’ was walking home with her boyfriend after a nightshift at Grand West Casino. They felt no threat when a stranger walked past them near Goodwood station.

‘Janet’: “But he was neatly dressed, [a] fine looking guy so we didn’t bother to look around.”

When he pulled out a gun a few seconds later, the nightmare began.

‘Janet’: “You know when you see the gun… my mouth was dry. You know, you can’t talk at that time because this is the first I’m experiencing something like this.”

After robbing them, Letsoenya forced the couple down an embankment where he made them strip. Janet was forced to perform a sexual act on her boyfriend.

‘Janet’: “But my boyfriend was saying to me I mustn’t do it.”

But paralysed with fear, she simulated sex. Letsoenya then forced her to lie on top of her boyfriend, where he raped her.

‘Janet’: “And then he says I must lay down. And my boyfriend was still laying on the ground. And he’s crying with me because I’m doing what he’s asking me to do. And then he lays on top of me, but he’s still pointing the gun and he’s talking to me and I’m talking to him. And I’m telling him, ‘I can’t die, my daughter is waiting for me at home…’”

‘Janet’, who suffered post-traumatic stress after her ordeal, had to relive the experience while facing Letsoenya and his advocate in court.

‘Janet’: “When the advocate started asking me questions I broke down and I couldn’t talk.”

But on hand to help ‘Janet’ through her court ideal was Rape Crisis.

Kathleen: “We were requested to come in by the National Prosecuting Authority. The prosecutor involved in the case was really worried about the emotional state of some of the witnesses.”

‘Janet’: “The second time when I went in there and he still had that, you know, smiling and looking at me thinking he’s going to break me. He got that right the first time, but the second time – no way! I just looked him straight in the eyes. I felt so proud of myself.”

Many victims would have not have made it through the court process had it not been for Rape Crisis’s support. In one of the attacks for example, Letsoenya had even forced two small children, one aged 11, to hold down their own mother while he raped her.

Manyeya Sebelebele was part of the NPA prosecution team. He used to be a legal aid lawyer.

Manyeya Sebelebele (State advocate): “I felt that I had so much passion for justice and I decided to join NPA so that I could prosecute those who committed the offenses.”

This was one case he was determined to win. But the trial was emotional and all consuming.

Sebelebele: “This is indeed the worst case that I’ve ever done in my life. Well, each time I’m on my way to court I think about these people – the complainants in the matter – I think about the trauma that they went through.”

Like the trauma, for example that ‘Andiswe’, not her real name, and her female friend suffered. Early one morning in 2004, they were confronted by Letsoenya who appeared from the bushes brandishing a gun.

‘Andiswe’ (Rape survivor): “We were very afraid.”

The women were ordered to take off their clothes

‘Andiswe’: “I told him that it’s cold and I’m pregnant [so] I’m not taking off my clothes. And he beat me with his gun at the back of my head.”

Letsoenya forced the women to undress and lie on top of each other.

‘Andiswe’: “He just beat me and said, ‘Don’t do this, and don’t make noise.’”

After raping ‘Andiswe’ and her friend, Letswengo disappeared. ‘Andiswe’ fainted. The two were found by early morning churchgoers and rushed to hospital.

Letswengo was finally arrested in late 2005. But for four years it appeared that police had no idea that there was a serial rapist on the loose on The Cape Flats and in the Goodwood area

John: “Why do you think it took so long for the community and the police to realise that they were dealing with a serial rapist?”

Christenues: “Unfortunately, rape is such a common occurrence in South Africa, and because he didn’t focus on one specific area, you won’t realise immediately that there’s a serial rapist operating.”

When a task team was finally put together, the police acted swiftly. Most victims had similar stories. The perpetrator used a gun, was clean-shaven, and had a close brush cut.

Christenues: “Somebody also said that he had boots on and that put him on to forces and at that stage they had a number of cases in the Goodwood area.”

When a victim was raped close to Goodwood station, the Police examined CCTV footage. It revealed a suspicious character following the woman.

Believing that the perpetrator may well be a member of the armed forces, the police visited the nearby Wingfield Naval Base. The CCTV footage was shown to The Master of Arms, who immediately recognised Letsoenysa. The police were then given this official naval photograph.

Some victims were called in by the police.

Christenues: “The photo ID- parade wasn’t 100 percent positive, but the lady said, ‘Well, he looks similar.’ That was enough for the task team to bring him in for a proper identification parade.”

Many victims gathered at Nyanga police station for the identity parade. ‘Janet’ was one of them. It was a traumatic moment.

‘Janet’: “I can’t explain how much I was crying.”

Letsoenya and several others stood behind one-way glass. This was the moment of truth for ‘Janet’ and the other victims.

‘Janet’: “And I looked at him, and I looked at everybody and I saw you’re shaking my brother – I know it’s you.”

John: “How did you feel when you saw him that day?”

‘Janet’: “I was angry and I was excited, you know, ‘I’ve got you now’.”

Circumstantial evidence, physical evidence such as DNA and a ballistics report linking Letsoenya’s gun to one of his attacks was enough for the court to find him guilty of 70 charges which included:
-28 counts of rape;
-2 of attempted rape;
-28 of indecent assault.

Professor Labusachagne believes that Lesoenya probably is guilty of far more crimes.

Prof Labusachagne: “When we interview serial rapists we usually ask them, ‘Were there other cases that the police hadn’t … either hadn’t come to the police’s attention because the victim didn’t go to the police or attempts to rape people that for some or other reason were unsuccessful’. And almost without a doubt they say, ‘Yes, there were other incidences’.”

Prof Labuschagne’s comments tie in closely with those of Letsoenya’s neighbours. Mrs Napier owns a family tuckshop a few meters from where Letsoenya lived with his wife on this street in Mitchell’s Plein.

John: “When you say he was with younger girls, how young exactly?”

Beatrix: “About 15, 16… some of them used to come past in school clothes.”

There was a steady stream of women into Letsoenya’s house, some apparently under age. This while his wife was at work.

Professor Labuschagne is on the tail of 15 other serial rapists. Disturbingly, serial rapists are usually the people you would be least likely to suspect.

Prof Labuschagne: “Imagine… take your best friend that you have, that you’ve known for 20 years or five, 10, 15 years, and suddenly someone walks up to you and says, ‘Well, he’s a rapist… he’s a serial rapist.’ Could you imagine that and accept it without at least having some doubt?”

Letsoenya is due to be sentenced later this month. If he is declared a dangerous criminal, the chances are that he will live the rest of his life behind bars.