Man who absconded after he raped schoolgirl in Enfield jailed

A man who attempted to evade justice after raping a schoolgirl in 2016 has been jailed

Morteza Bandali, 22 (17.09.1998), of School Way, N12, appeared before Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, 22 September and was sentenced to nine years’ imprisonment.

Bandali was aged 17 when the attack took place in Enfield, and originally arrested in May 2017 and charged on 17 June 2019 alongside three co-defendants.

The three men, all aged in their 20s, were sentenced in April 2020 and together their jail-time totalled 45 years.

This trial however took place without Bandali, who had left the UK on 11 July 2019, four days before his first magistrates’ court hearing.

Bandali had travelled to Europe and returned to London, only to be arrested in west London on 5 February 2020 for failing to appear.

The court heard how the victim had travelled to London from Bristol on 13 August 2016.

When in London, she was robbed by one man, and then imprisoned in a residential block in Enfield. It was here that she was forced by the four defendants to perform oral sex on each of them.

Having been re-arrested, Bandali pleaded guilty to rape at the same court on 1 July 2020, having initially denied them.

Detective Sergeant Charlotte Carter from the Met’s Central South BCU said: “I am pleased that we have seen another person brought to account for their part in this attack against a vulnerable teenage girl.

“Bendali thought he could get away without facing punishment and today’s result has proved otherwise.

“I would urge anyone who has been the victim of a sexual offence to come forward to police. You will be listened to and every effort made to secure justice.