Locations
Mill Lane, Reading, West Berkshire, RG31
Description
Following a Thames Valley Police investigation, a man has been sentenced for rape in Oxford.
Following a thorough and detailed police investigation, Amin Abedi Mofrad, aged 35, of Mill Lane, Reading was today (13/11) sentenced to 9 years and 6 months in prison with an extended licence period of 3 years, at a hearing at Oxford Crown Court.
On 7 October this year, he was found guilty by unanimous jury verdict following a trial, at the same court, of one count of rape and one count of sexual assault by penetration.
The incident took place near to the Westgate Shopping Centre in Oxford on 14 February 2024. During this time, Mofrad was living at the Holiday Inn Express on Grenoble Road.
The incident was reported to us on 7 April 2024. Mofrad was arrested and released on police bail.
Due to the time that had passed, CCTV was unavailable. Fortunately, through Project Vigilant - a Thames Valley Police initiative to target predatory behaviour - officers arrested Mofrad.
Project Vigilant is our dedicated approach to preventing sexual offences and identifying predatory behaviour in the night time economy and public spaces, including sexual comments, inappropriate behaviour and harassment.
Specially trained plain clothed and uniformed officers patrol areas outside of nightclubs, bars and pubs and public spaces.
In partnership, they work to identify and deal with anyone displaying predatory behaviour, preventing offences from happening.
During December 2024, the force was made aware of previously reported assaults which took place in Germany that related to Mofrad, four of which had resulted in convictions. These convictions were for assault and bodily harm offences.
The force was made aware of these offences via pre-existing protocols, which allow police forces to share and obtain information for operational purposes.
In our investigation, new evidence linking Mofrad to the previously reported offences in Oxford were found on his mobile phone on 13 December 2024.
Mofrad was arrested for a second time and charged and remanded, on 3 February 2025. At the time of this arrest, he had been staying at Best Western Plus Moat House, Mill Lane, Reading, due to personal safety concerns at the Oxford hotel.
Investigating officer, Detective Constable Bethany Liversidge, of Oxford CID, said:
“Firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the immense courage displayed by the teenage victim in supporting this investigation from the start all the way to the finish.
“It is thanks to her support and bravery that we were able to bring Mofrad to justice.
“I hope that this result illustrates how committed Thames Valley Police is in investigating and preventing violence against women and girls and bringing offenders to justice.
“Project Vigilant is a valuable initiative which helps us to prevent crimes from happening, but when they sadly do, allows us to continue to build intelligence around predatory activity.
“The victim and their family have requested privacy at this time.”