A pilot from British Airways manipulated a 12-year-old girl into believing she was in a caring relationship before traveling hundreds of miles to sexually assault her.
Kwame Yeboah, a former England youth basketball player, met the young girl on the video chat platform Omegle and then continued their interactions through explicit messages, photos, and video calls on Instagram.
In a trial at Liverpool Crown Court, it was revealed that Yeboah, aged 30, drove from Reading to the Wirral after communicating with the girl online for approximately three months.
The girl’s mother contacted Merseyside Police after discovering that her daughter had been in contact with a man online and had engaged in sexual activity with him.
During the court proceedings, it was mentioned that the girl initially denied any wrongdoing and even expressed reluctance to seek emergency contraception. Yeboah had booked a hotel room and the girl sneaked out of her house to meet him in his black Mercedes.
Despite the victim claiming she was 17 at first, she later sent photos of herself in school uniform, indicating her real age. Yeboah pressured her to meet him, expressing his disappointment when she refused.
Yeboah sexually assaulted and raped the girl in two separate locations, displaying manipulative behavior by trying to dissuade her from seeking medical help afterward.
The judge noted Yeboah’s grooming tactics and emotional manipulation, sentencing him to eight years and four months in prison for multiple charges, including rape and assault of a child under 13.
The victim suffered from confidence issues, sleep disturbances, and lack of focus in school as a result of the abuse. Yeboah received a restraining order preventing him from contacting the girl for 15 years and will be on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
