London Rapist Fabio Moniz 'Posed as Gay Vogue Photographer'
A rapist who posed as a gay Vogue photographer to target women at exclusive London nightspots has been jailed for life.
Fabio Moniz, 27, also adopted a smart accent and pretended to be a model who had partied with 'A-list' celebrities to charm women he met in Mayfair venues.
He will serve a minimum of nine years behind bars for raping two women after spiking their drinks with date rape drug GHB. Police believe he may have attacked more women.
Police said they know little about the background of the Portuguese national, who in court likened himself to fraudster Frank Abagnale, portrayed by Leonardo Dicaprio in the film Catch Me If You Can.
On his Facebook page, where he has the profile name Fabs Fabio Finch, he claimed to work for accountants KPMG and to have attended the London School of Economics.
Moniz was originally accused of rape by an American tourist in 2009 but was acquitted. The woman, who is now a successful financial analyst, returned from the States to give evidence against him.
Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how Moniz encountered two women outside a nightclub last year and persuaded them to accompany him to the bar of a Mayfair hotel. They then went on to a nightclub.
One of the women told The Mail on Sunday: "He was smartly dressed in a denim shirt, sweater and jeans, and had a cut-glass accent with a slight lisp, saying, 'Oh sweetie, I work in the fashion business with supermodels.'
"He was very personable, maybe we were too trusting, but he was easy company."
She woke up hours later in a flat in Bermondsey, south-east London, to find Moniz trying to have sex with her. Realising she had been raped, she went to the police.
Only 20 days later Moniz approached an American woman who was dining alone in the restaurant of Claridge's. He claimed he was a fashion photographer who had just finished a shoot for Vogue and persuaded her to accompany him to a nightclub. She then recalls nothing before waking up in her hotel room naked with Moniz beside her.
In both cases, Moniz also took possessions from the women, including credit cards.
Detective Superintendent Kate Halpin praised the courage of the women in giving evidence and said: "Given the nature of his crimes it is highly likely Moniz has committed further offences."
Moniz, of no fixed address, who was convicted of two counts of rape and one of attempted rape at an earlier hearing, was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life.
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