Gang rape case star is cleared

Cristian Montano: cleared of rape charge

A FORMER Oldham Athletic star was cleared yesterday of gang raping a young woman in his flat.

Midfielder Cristian Montano (22), was said to have forced himself on the 21-year-old before his friends also had sex with her.

A jury of seven men and five women unanimously found co-defendants Andres Hurtado (23) and Camilo Valencia (22) not guilty of involvement in the sex attack.

After 10 hours deliberation over two days at Snaresbrook Crown Court the jury could not reach a decision on the former Oldham Athletic star.

But yesterday prosecutor Timothy Forster said the prosecution had dropped the case against Colombian-born Montano and there would not be a retrial.

Montano, who has also played for West Ham and Dagenham and Redbridge, was said to have attacked the woman after meeting her at the Liquid club in Romford on July 8, 2012.

They went back to his flat in Romford, where the woman said she woke up with the player on top of her while Hurtado and Valencia watched.

Hurtado and Montano both admitted having sex with the girl but claimed it was totally consensual. Valencia denied having sex with her at all.

Montano, who played for Oldham before being dismissed by the club earlier this season over an unrelated inquiry, claimed the girl had “encouraged” him into bed and that he had stopped having sex with her because he felt guilty about cheating on his girlfriend.

All three denied rape