A Moroccan man who posed as a footballer to get close to a 14-year-old boy, only to rape him twice in 2004, was yesterday jailed for eight years.

Hamid El Faiq, 45, first set eyes on the boy when the latter was playing with a football in St Paul's Bay. He told him he was a player with the national team and kicked the ball around with him.

Mr Faiq then took him to a deserted area and raped him, Magistrate Saviour Demicoli outlined in the judgment.

Shortly after that, on April 6, Mr Faiq approached the boy a second time and told him that he had some football photographs he wanted to show him.

The teenager, who was terrified of the man, went with him to his flat where he was raped a second time.

Magistrate Demicoli found him guilty of raping the boy and holding him against his will.