Alleged serial home invader remanded for minor’s rape

Rudolph Smith

Home invasions otherwise known as aggravated burglaries appear to be on the rise. They are particularly violent when women are involved. Unlike Westby who was stabbed, other victims of home invasions are sometimes raped.  Just weeks after thirty-five year old Rudolph Smith was released on bail for allegedly trying to rape a woman inside her house, he was back before the courts today for another sexual offence. Police put out an All Points Bulletin for the arrest of the Hattieville resident last week and he was captured over the weekend. This time he is accused of raping a fifteen-year-old girl in the wee hours of November twenty-third. The minor claims that at around three-thirty a.m., she was in bed when she woke to find Smith with a knife pointed at her throat. He allegedly threatened to kill the teen’s younger siblings if she made a sound and then raped her.  In Court this morning, Smith was unrepresented when he read charges of Rape and Aggravated Burglary. The court prosecutor objected to bail on the grounds that Smith has charges pending for a similar offense and he might interfere with the complainant once released. In his own defense, Smith told the court that he is innocent and that he was only arrested because he is a police target. He claims that is why he moved out of the city and went to live in Hattieville. But bail was denied and Smith has been remanded to the Central Prison until December twenty-eighth when bail will be considered on his behalf.