The man who robbed and raped a 69-year-old woman at her home in Sint-Niklaas in early March has been arrested. He will be brought before the investigating judge today. Last Sunday, the police distributed surveillance images of the man in our investigation program FAROEK, which can be viewed here on HLN. The investigators then emphasized how important it was that the man was caught quickly: “He is very dangerous. He said he had to do this because of the voices in his head.”
On March 3, the man rang the bell at a house near the Sint-Niklaas station. A 69-year-old woman, who has difficulty walking, opened the door. The man burst in and dragged the woman into the living room. “He was immediately very aggressive towards the woman,” said Inspector Pauwels of the local police department of Sint-Niklaas on Sunday in our investigation program FAROEK. The man hit the woman in the face several times and raped her. “He told the woman that he heard voices in his head and that he had to do this because of those voices. He is very dangerous,” said Pauwels.
The man eventually ran off with some cash and the woman’s cell phone. Striking: both the front door and the door between the living room and the hallway were locked. “He literally locked the woman up.” The woman was left helpless on the cold floor of her home. It took almost two hours before she could reach someone who could call the police.
Dozens of tips
In the meantime, the man fled to Sint-Niklaas station and then took the train to Antwerp Central Station. He was clearly filmed by surveillance cameras at both stations. Last Sunday, those surveillance images were distributed in our FAROEK investigation program, and with success.
There was a lot of reaction to the report. The police received about twenty tips and were able to identify and arrest the man based on those tips. This is a 28 year old man. He is from Somalia. He will be arraigned today before the investigating judge in Dendermonde. The East Flanders public prosecutor’s office has requested this.
Witnesses found
In the report, the police also launched an appeal to two witnesses: two men who each spoke to the suspect separately after the robbery. The two have nothing to do with the facts, but the police still wanted to speak to them because they could possibly tell more about the suspect. The two have also been identified thanks to the report.
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Tags: days FAROEK report police catch man raped woman house Farouk
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