Social Media Affair, Woman Raped
Social media flirting turned sour last weekend when a Harare woman was raped by her “online boyfriend”.
The two knew each other through social media and they chatted until they agreed to meet in Harare.
The first meeting resulted in the man raping the woman (29).
The 29-year-old victim becomes the second victim in a month after another woman (18) from Masvingo was raped under related circumstances at a city lodge.
National police spokesman Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi confirmed the latest incident saying investigations were still in progress.
“They met on social media before the woman was lured by the ‘online boyfriend’ to meet in Harare at night.
“The victim met the accused along Samora Machel Avenue, Harare for the first time and the two drove to a house where the complainant was later raped,” he said.
Meanwhile, police are also investigating the initial case involving a Masvingo woman who reportedly travelled to Harare to meet her social media male friend who tricked her into entering a lodge where she was raped.
The pair’s friendship started on social media platforms and the woman (18) was invited to Harare.
While in Harare, the man took her to a lodge in a residential area, lying that it was his parent’s home.
While in one of the rooms, the woman claims she was raped.
After the incident, the man disappeared, leaving the teenage woman in the room.
Police spokesperson Assistant Commission Paul Nyathi confirmed receiving the rape report saying police have launched a manhunt for the rape suspect.
“We can confirm that we are investigating a case of an 18-year-old woman who was lured to a lodge in Harare by a prospective boyfriend on the pretext that he wanted to introduce her to his parents. “He lied to her that the premise was his parents ‘house and became intimate with her.
“He later left the complainant at the lodge, promising to come back the following morning. He never came back,” he said.
The woman later discovered that the premise did not belong to the man’s parents neither was it a residential property.
It also came out that the two whose friendship started on social media, had never met until the woman’s visit to Harare. The Herald
