A 45-year-old Eastern Cape police detective has been arrested for allegedly raping a teenager.

It’s understood the officer attacked the 17-year-old girl when he was supposed to have interviewed her about an assault case that she had opened against her boyfriend.

The police watchdog IPID says the alleged crime happened earlier this month in an office at the Kei Mouth police station.

IPID spokesperson Lizzy Suping says the suspect has since resigned.

He is expected to appear in the East London Magistrate’s Court.

The latest crime statistics show that sexual offences decreased by nearly 7% between April and June this year. It’s 500 less cases reported when compared to the same period last year. Experts and organisations believe the drop is not much to do with police efforts but is a result of under reporting. Some victims are fearful of revictimisation.