By Anita Dangazele
- Robert Lee Redd Jr was arrested at his home in the Riverdale Complex in Westbrook on Wednesday after a two-year police operation.
- Redd came onto the radar of US authorities after he married a South African citizen and the US Embassy contacted Bay detectives for help in 2024.
A man wanted in the United States for raping his daughter lived freely in Gqeberha for years before police caught up with him this week.
Robert Lee Redd Jr, 56, was arrested at his home in the Riverdale Complex in Westbrook at around 15:00 on Wednesday. He is a US citizen wanted on charges of rape and sexual assault. His daughter was 12 years old when the offences were reported in 2017.
Redd fled the United States after the charges were reported. He eventually settled in Gqeberha, where he married a South African citizen. That marriage is what brought him back onto the radar of US authorities.
The US Embassy in Cape Town contacted Nelson Mandela Bay detectives for assistance in 2024. What followed was a two-year operation involving the Nelson Mandela Bay District Detective Task Team, Crime Intelligence, INTERPOL and the Crime Combating Unit. The team was led by Captain Lesley Killian and Sergeant Ridwaan Baatjies.
INTERPOL traced Redd to Gqeberha and kept him under close monitoring while extradition and legal processes were finalised. An immediate arrest was not possible until the documentation was completed on Tuesday.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana confirmed the arrest.
“The suspect will now be extradited back to the USA to face charges of sexual assault and rape against him in that country,” Gantana said.
Redd is expected to appear before the Gqeberha Magistrate’s Court on Friday for an extradition application by the United States government.
Pictured above: The Gqeberha Magistrate’s Court, where Robert Lee Redd Jr is expected to appear on Friday.
Image source: Supplied
