A former Nigerian-American police officer in the United States, Sinmi Asomuyide, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl he encountered while responding to a missing-person report.
Asomuyide, 33, who previously served with the Kokomo Police Department in Indiana, was also handed three years of supervised release after completing his prison term.
The United States Department of Justice disclosed this in a statement issued Thursday, November 5, 2026, after Chief District Judge James R. Sweeney II sentenced him.
The former officer was convicted in June 2026 after a five-day jury trial on charges of deprivation of rights under colour of law, witness tampering and destruction of records.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Asomuyide first encountered the victim on June 30, 2024, when he and another officer responded to a 911 call from her father, who had reported her as a runaway.
The officers found the teenager at the home of another underage girl and took her to the Kinsey Youth Centre.
While at the centre, Asomuyide switched off his body-worn camera, contrary to police department policy, and used the teenager’s phone to call his personal TextNow number. He subsequently questioned her about her sexual history and activities.
During a pat-down search, he found a vape pen in her possession and told her he would contact her later to return it.
The girl was eventually released into the care of a family friend at her father’s instruction. Before leaving, she shared her social media username with Asomuyide, who requested her TikTok details. They continued communicating through text messages that evening.
Prosecutors said Asomuyide later returned to the police station and requested overtime, claiming he needed to complete paperwork between 10 pm and midnight.
Instead, he went to the family friend’s apartment in his police uniform and patrol vehicle, asking to speak privately with the teenager under the pretext of determining where she should stay.
He handcuffed her in the back of his patrol car and drove her to an empty warehouse parking lot. There, he removed the handcuffs, moved her to the front seat and sexually assaulted her before handcuffing her again and driving her back.
The teenager reported the incident to family members, prompting an investigation by the Indiana State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
During a forensic examination of Asomuyide’s patrol vehicle, investigators recovered a dried semen stain from the centre console, which matched his DNA.
When questioned by investigators about a week after the incident, Asomuyide denied having sexual contact with the girl. He claimed she had contacted him on a work phone, although officers were not issued work phones by the department.
A forensic examination of his mobile phone also revealed searches, made within hours of the assault, including “how to delete TextMe account” and “TextNow delete account”. Investigators also found that he had deleted the messaging application he used to communicate with the teenager.
The Kokomo Police Department terminated his employment in July 2024.
The investigation also uncovered a previous allegation of sexual misconduct involving a minor during Asomuyide’s earlier employment with the Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia.
According to the Justice Department, he was forced to resign following an allegation that he had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl while off duty.
When applying to join the Kokomo Police Department, Asomuyide reportedly gave a different account, claiming he was forced to resign because he had been associating with a 17-year-old girl who told him she was 19.
Reacting to the sentence, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the department took civil rights abuses seriously, particularly when committed by officers entrusted with protecting the public.
The Justice Department said it hoped the victim would be able to recover and prosper despite what it described as a horrific experience.
Asomuyide’s case was investigated by the FBI Indianapolis Field Office and the Indiana State Police.