Some nicknames aren’t the type you want to follow you around, and I think ‘the Gautrain Stalker’ falls into that category.

Four women have now submitted their accounts of being “repeatedly stalked and intimidated” by a Gautrain commuter to the relevant authorities, with one woman even claiming that the man followed her vehicle as she drove out of the Pretoria Gautrain parkade.

Three of those women shared their stories with TimesLIVE, and it turns out the man may have a history:

The man, believed to be a convicted sex fiend who works at a Johannesburg law firm, has allegedly followed the women to other carriages, their cars and offices…

One of the women said she had first become aware of the man in October 2017. She had three further encounters with him in 2018 and a further five this year and said his behaviour had become increasingly aggressive.

She described one incident: “He saw me as I was about to get off the train at Hatfield. I noticed him right next to me and even physically bumping into my right-hand side. [After getting off the train] I slowed down and he slowed down too. I ran up to the stairs … and was the first one to get into the basement parking. I heard footsteps behind me and I glanced back to see him about 5m behind me with his eyes fixated on me. He aggressively confronted me, telling me he was not following me. When I got into my car he walked away.”

She said that as she drove out she saw him walk back to where they had come from and realised that he had not been parked in the vicinity.

Standard creepy sex pest behaviour which just about every woman can relate to.

It’s not just their word against his, either, with two of the women having taken videos and photographs of the man:

…the others had written down his vehicle registration. Labuschagne said this had helped to identify the man and confirm his 1992 conviction for indecent assault.

Until now the man has kept physical contact to a minimum. But a threat assessment report by [forensic psychologist and former head of the SAPS Investigative Psychology Unit, Dr Gerard] Labuschagne, based on the four victims’ statements, reveals the stalking is escalating and notes concerning changes to the stalker’s behaviour, with increasing risks to victims…

One of the women said she had not got much support from Gautrain officials.”This man has a previous conviction for sexual assault. He is the problem and he is not stopping. He followed me two weeks ago. When I reported this to Gautrain I was told to get a protection order,” she said.

When TimesLIVE reached out to the man for comment, he denied the allegations and claimed it was too noisy to hear, before hanging up and turning off his phone. Kinda like the Schabir Shaik ‘cough into the phone’ angle.

According to Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Marvin Masondo, they are looking into the incidents.

[source:timeslive]