THE teenager arrested last week in connection with the assault and rape of an elderly Port Elizabeth woman at her Fordyce Road, Walmer, home is no stranger to police.
Bulelani Maneli, 19, of Walmer township has been wanted since last year for a series of burglaries in the Walmer area.
Maneli was arrested last Friday when undercover police, investigating other matters in the area, noticed him carrying a plasma computer screen.
Maneli allegedly posed as a beggar wanting food, then overpowered, tied up, beat and raped the woman, who cannot be named to protect her identity, shortly after 9am.
Police spokeswoman Captain Sandra Janse van Rensburg said Maneli had several previous convictions including four pending burglary and theft cases. He was on bail at the time of Friday's incident.
"On one of the pending cases he failed to appear in court leading to the magistrate issuing a warrant of arrest," Janse van Rensburg said.
"The warrant was issued last year and since then he has been evading police. The details surrounding his release are unknown but they will form part of the investigation as it demonstrates that he has had previous run-ins with the law."
Maneli appeared in the Port Elizabeth Magistrate's Court on Monday and the case was postponed to yesterday for him to discuss the matter with an attorney.
Senior officials at the court said Maleni's case was postponed as prosecutors were negotiating a guilty plea. He is due to appear in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court next Friday.
"We believe he is going to admit to the crime but we are awaiting his statement and testimony. This will likely only be done during the trial," the official said.
The beaten 75-year-old was discovered by her neighbour, who spoke on condition of anonymity, after he heard her cries for help.
The case was handed to detectives at the specialist Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit who took the battered woman to hospital for treatment.
