A 31-year-old woman accused of allegedly recruiting girls for the purposes of sexual exploitation for senior pastor of the Jesus Dominion International Church, Timothy Omotoso was granted bail of R2 000 by the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Nobubele Mlindi handed herself over to the Hawks’ human trafficking team in Port Elizabeth on Thursday morning.

She faces charges of trafficking in persons and exploitation for sexual purposes.

“It is alleged that between 2012 and 2016, while working for the Department of Health in Port Elizabeth, Mlindi recruited girls from around the country to reside at Omotoso’s house in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Hawks spokesperson Anelisa Feni.

“It is further alleged that she, at certain periods, was the house mother for this house. Mlindi now resides in Mmabatho, in the North West.”

Omotoso, 59, was arrested in Port Elizabeth in April 2017 and is facing multiple charges related to the contravention of the Sexual Offences Act, including rape.

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Some of the alleged victims are as young as 13-years-old.

Mlindi was the third suspect who was arrested by the Hawks’ anti-human trafficking team for allegedly recruiting girls from all over the country and monitoring their movements in the houses they were being kept in.

Zukiswa Sitho, 28, and Lusanda Solani, 36, were each granted R2 000 bail by the Port Elizabeth Magistrate’s Court in November 2017.

Mlindi and her three co-accused, including Omotoso, will appear in the same court on April 11.

The acting provincial head for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) in the Eastern Cape, Major General Zinhle Mnonopi, congratulated the Hawks team members for their determination in the fight against human trafficking.