Cape Town – A police officer accused of raping a 14-year-old girl appeared in the Paarl Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday morning.

Warrant Officer Anthony Gouws, 41, who is out on R1 500 bail, will be back in court on 29 August.

He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

According to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), the girl was raped twice at her home in April this year.

On another day, she was raped at the house of her alleged attacker, IPID spokesperson Moses Dlamini said.

Afterwards, he dropped the teenager off at school. On another occasion, the girl was picked up in a police vehicle and taken to a field where she was raped.

Dlamini said the girl was allegedly raped on numerous other occasions.

“The victim had reported the rapes to her cousin but she was afraid to inform her parents.”

Her mother reported the matter after finding a message on her daughter’s cellphone.

– SAPA