A British Airways pilot has been jailed after driving hundreds of miles in his Mercedes to meet a 12-year-old girl he groomed online and sexually abuse her, in a case police called “despicable.”
Kwame Yeboah, 30, a former England youth basketball player and British Airways first officer, was sentenced to eight years and four months in prison after admitting to child sex offenses involving the young girl.
The court heard Yeboah first met the child on Omegle, a video chat site where users were randomly connected with strangers. He then moved the conversation to Instagram, where prosecutors said he exchanged explicit messages, photos and video calls with her.
Although the girl initially told him she was 17, prosecutors said Yeboah had several obvious warning signs that she was much younger. She sent him pictures of herself in a school uniform, talked about being grounded and referred to school tests.
But instead of backing away, Yeboah kept pushing.
Prosecutors said he emotionally manipulated the girl when she hesitated to meet him, sending messages that played on her feelings and made her feel guilty.
“I can’t do this no more, because you’re not meeting me,” he wrote in one message, according to the court.
In another, he told her, “I can’t call because it makes me sad, because I can’t see you.”
The manipulation worked. Yeboah eventually persuaded the child to meet him, then drove from his home in Reading, Berkshire, to Merseyside and checked into a hotel before the encounter.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the girl climbed out of a window at her home to meet him nearby. Once she got into his black Mercedes, Yeboah allegedly remarked, “You’re dainty, aren’t you?”
He then drove her around before asking to stop in a parking lot. Prosecutors said he sexually assaulted and raped the girl inside the car. When another vehicle pulled up nearby, Yeboah drove to a second location, where he raped her again.
The horrifying abuse came to light after the girl’s mother learned from one of her daughter’s young friends that the child had been talking to an adult man online and had met him. The mother contacted police.
Investigators later discovered Yeboah’s number had been saved in the girl’s phone under a fake name.
When police first spoke to the girl, she appeared to struggle to understand what had happened to her. Prosecutors said she was initially dismissive and told her mother in front of officers, “I don’t know why you had to tell the police. It’s not like I’ve been raped or anything.”
After being told she might need emergency contraception if any sexual activity had taken place, she reportedly replied, “No, I’m not getting it. I’ll keep the baby.”
The court heard Yeboah later became anxious about whether she had obtained the morning-after pill and messaged her, accusing her of lying.
The child later confirmed to detectives that she had met Yeboah on Omegle about three months earlier before their conversations continued on Instagram.
The damage to the girl has been devastating. The court heard her confidence has been shattered, she struggles to sleep and eat, and she is constantly on edge. She has also been left dealing with guilt, anger, confusion and shame, and has had trouble concentrating on her schoolwork.
Yeboah, who was born in Ghana and had no previous convictions, admitted three counts of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration.
His defense attorney, Richard Pratt KC, told the court that Yeboah accepted full responsibility and acknowledged there were “plain warning signs” that the girl was younger than 17.
Pratt said Yeboah had trained as a first officer with British Airways and was still involved in basketball as a referee. The court also heard that references described him as hardworking and grounded despite his achievements.
But Judge Gary Woodhall made clear that none of that excused what he did.
The judge said it would have been obvious to Yeboah that the girl was not 17. He pointed to the school uniform photos, her talk of tests, being grounded and her sexual inexperience.
“All of this was indicative of her true age,” the judge said.
“You are an older man, someone who has volunteered with children, and a professional,” he told Yeboah.
The judge said Yeboah’s messages were “highly sexualised” and designed to “emotionally blackmail and manipulate this young girl.”
Yeboah was jailed for eight years and four months and given an additional year on license. He was also handed a 15-year restraining order banning him from contacting the victim and must register as a sex offender for life.
British Airways fired him as soon as the allegations were passed to the airline.
“We’ve been sickened to hear of the despicable actions of this individual and we can only imagine the pain he has inflicted,” British Airways said in a statement. “All of our thoughts are and will remain with the young person and their family as they try to repair the unthinkable damage and hurt they have suffered.”
Yeboah reportedly joined British Airways in 2023 and had been fully vetted before starting with the airline.
After sentencing, Detective Constable Roxana Tusa of Merseyside Police said Yeboah was a “dangerous sexual offender” who is now beginning a significant prison sentence for his crimes.
“We hope that the swift identification and prosecution of Yeboah does at least offer some comfort to the victim and her family moving forward,” she said. “I want to thank them for their strength throughout our investigation.”
Pervert! Chop off his biden!