Two Men From Brentford Jailed for Raping Teenager

Former professional footballer Montell Moore gets 11 year sentence

Montell Moore

Two men from Brentford including former professional footballer Montell Moore have been jailed for rape and taking and distributing indecent images of a child.

22-year-old Moore of Trimmer Walk, Brentford, and Sofian Zoberi, age 23 of Albany Road, had been found guilty last week at Isleworth Crown Court. This Tuesday (25 September) Moore was sentenced to 11 years and six months' imprisonment for two counts of rape and one count of sexual assault and Zoberi was sentenced to eight years and six months' imprisonment for one count of rape and sexual assault. They had admitted the charges relating to the images but denied rape.

The court heard that in the early hours of 12 March 2016, the victim, who was 17 at the time, had arranged to meet Moore via the dating app Tinder. Moore picked the victim up at a bus stop in his car and took her to Zoberi's house.

At the location Moore and the victim had consensual sex in the living room. He began to persistently ask if he record the encounter on his mobile phone. The victim said no, but Moore began to record anyway.

She was then forced to partake in further sexual acts and taken upstairs by Moore who introduced Zoberi without her consent. He forced himself upon her despite her repeated demands for him to leave her alone. When she refused, Moore demanded the victim do as she was told before she was then sexually assaulted again by Zoberi. The pair held a duvet and pillow over their victim’s face to muffle her screams. They then posted videos of the assault on a WhatsApp groupd to their friends.

The victim said in her impact statement which was read out in court, "What was for them a careless night of fun was torment for me. I will never forget how they made me feel and how they forced me to act.

"This is not about revenge, it is about people knowing this behaviour was wrong."

Police were contacted soon after the attack. Moore and Zoberi were arrested on 15 March 2016 and charged on 14 September 2017.

Moore grew up in the Chiswick area and was spotted by Brentford FC having been part of a training programme run by the Brentford Community Sports Trust since he was seven before being offered a place at the club's centre of excellence.

Sofian Zoberi

In 2014, Moore made his professional debut for Brentford in a league cup game in which he scored and afterwards was given a three year professional contract. However, he dropped out of the first team squad and was convicted of handling stolen goods and driving offences after being arrested in Chiswick. He went to play overseas for a period and then joined Charlton Athletic.

Detective Constable Jonny Norman, of the Child Abuse and Sexual Offences Command, said: "I would like to commend the victim, who is young woman and has endured not only a serious ordeal at the hands of Moore and Zoberi, but a very difficult and challenging time during the trial too.

"We are pleased to have secured this verdict which will, I hope, give courage to other victims of sexual assault to come forward to police and be assured that we will thoroughly investigate."

Moore and Zoberi will also be placed on the sex offenders' register for life.

September 28, 2018