Kwame Yeboah, a 30-year-old former British Airways pilot and ex-England youth basketballer from Reading, Berkshire, has been sentenced to nine years and four months in prison for raping a 12-year-old girl after grooming her on social media. He pleaded guilty to three counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of sexual assault of a girl under 13.
How the Offender Groomed the Victim
Liverpool Crown Court heard on Wednesday, June 24, that Yeboah first contacted the child online in late 2025. The victim initially told him she was 17, and their conversations began ordinarily. However, the nature of later messages and her appearance when they met in person made it clear she was much younger and could not consent to any sexual activity.
Yeboah sent the 12-year-old intimate images of himself, and the conversations became increasingly sexual. He called her around two times a week, making her believe she was important to him and that he cared about her.
The Journey and the Assault
In February 2026, Yeboah drove approximately 200 miles from Reading to Merseyside to meet the child late in the evening. He drove her around before taking her to an isolated location, where he raped her three times. After the assault, he dropped her off close to where he had picked her up and drove away.
Discovery and Investigation
A few days later, a friend of the victim told her mother what had happened, and it was reported to the police. The child later told police she struggled to process what happened and felt nervous and confused. Yeboah was identified using the details he had given the child. When arrested and interviewed, he answered “no comment” to all questions, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Legal Proceedings and Sentence
Yeboah pleaded guilty to all charges on April 22 and was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on June 24. He received a sentence of nine years and four months imprisonment, with an additional one year on licence. He is also subject to a 15-year Restraining Order.
Senior Crown Prosecutor Thomas Hanlon of CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences (RASSO) unit said: “Kwame Yeboah would have known early on in his contact with this child that she was not the age she initially claimed to be. She spoke about school and sent images of herself in school uniform. When he met her in person, it would have been obvious that she was a very young child. Despite this, Yeboah deliberately took her to an isolated location where he raped her three times. He groomed the victim into believing she was in a relationship with someone who cared about her. In reality, he was an adult man who abused his position and exploited her for his own sexual gratification. This case is the result of the courage shown by the victim and her family, and the careful work of Merseyside Police and the Crown Prosecution Service.”
Police Statement
After the sentencing, Detective Constable Roxana Tusa from CCSET said: “Our investigation has proved that Yeboah is a dangerous sexual offender, who will now begin a significant jail sentence for his abhorrent crimes. After contacting his victim online, he groomed her, and then travelled to Merseyside in order to abuse her, admitting his guilt only when confronted with the case against him. We hope that the swift identification and prosecution of Yeboah does at least offer some comfort to the victim and her family moving forward. I want to thank them for their strength throughout our investigation. We do not underestimate how difficult it can be to report sexual offences, or how important it is that such despicable offenders are removed from the community. Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse and from those who seek to do them harm. I would like to take this opportunity to stress that if you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, then please come forward and report this to police or our partners. We take all such reports extremely seriously and have specially trained officers, who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion every step of the way.”
