By Emmanuella Opara | November 12th 2026
KEY POINTS
- Former Kokomo Police Department officer Sinmi Asomuyide has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in Indiana.
- The 33-year-old was convicted in June 2026 of deprivation of rights under colour of law, witness tampering and destruction of records.
- Investigators found DNA evidence linking him to the assault, while a forensic examination of his phone revealed searches about deleting messaging accounts.
- The US Department of Justice disclosed that he had previously faced an allegation of sexual misconduct involving a 15-year-old girl in Virginia.
MAIN STORY
A former police officer in the United States, Sinmi Asomuyide, has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl while on duty in Indiana.
Asomuyide, 33, who previously served with the Kokomo Police Department, was also handed three years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
The United States Department of Justice announced the sentence in a statement published on its website on November 5, 2026, following his conviction in June after a five-day jury trial.
He was found guilty of deprivation of rights under colour of law, witness tampering and destruction of records.
Court documents and evidence presented during the trial showed that Asomuyide first encountered the teenager on June 30, 2024, while responding to a 911 call from her father, who had reported her missing as a runaway.
Asomuyide and another police officer located the girl at the home of another underage girl and took her into custody before transporting her to the Kinsey Youth Center.
According to prosecutors, Asomuyide switched off his body-worn camera as he entered the facility’s garage, contrary to police department policy.
He subsequently took the teenager’s mobile phone, used it to call his personal TextNow number and questioned her about her sexual history.
During a search, he discovered a vape pen in her back pocket and later escorted her to a side room, where he told her he would contact her to return the item.
The teenager was eventually collected from the youth centre by a family friend on the instructions of her father.
Before leaving, she reportedly gave Asomuyide the username of one of her social media accounts, while he requested her TikTok username.
The two continued exchanging text messages that evening while the officer completed the remainder of his shift.
Prosecutors said Asomuyide subsequently requested overtime at the police station, claiming he needed to complete paperwork between 10pm and midnight.
However, instead of carrying out the stated assignment, he allegedly left the station to meet the teenager at the apartment where she was staying with the family friend.
He arrived in his police uniform and requested a private conversation with the girl, claiming he wanted to establish where she should stay.
Instead, he handcuffed her in the back of his patrol vehicle and drove to an empty warehouse car park, according to evidence from the trial.
GPS records from the patrol vehicle showed the journey, while prosecutors said he removed the handcuffs, moved the teenager to the front seat and sexually assaulted her before returning her to the apartment complex.
The victim later reported the incident to family members and law enforcement authorities, leading to an investigation by the Indiana State Police.
A forensic examination of the patrol vehicle uncovered a dried semen stain on the centre console, which matched Asomuyide’s DNA.
Investigators also found evidence that he attempted to mislead detectives during an interview conducted approximately one week after the assault.
He reportedly denied giving the teenager his phone number and suggested that she might have overheard him reciting it to an employee of the youth centre.
He also claimed that the girl had contacted him through a work phone, although police officers in the department were not issued such devices.
A forensic examination of his mobile phone further revealed that he searched for phrases including how to delete TextMe and TextNow accounts within hours of the assault.
The Justice Department also disclosed that the Indiana case was not the first allegation of sexual misconduct involving a minor against Asomuyide.
Before joining the Kokomo Police Department, he worked with the Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia, where 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 force, he reportedly misrepresented the circumstances surrounding his departure from the Virginia department.
He claimed that he had been forced to resign because he was associating with a 17-year-old girl who told him she was 19.
Earlier reports by American media in July 2024 indicated that Asomuyide had been dismissed from the Kokomo Police Department following an internal investigation into his conduct.
The Indiana State Police subsequently investigated the allegations, while the US Department of Justice announced in July 2025 that a federal grand jury had indicted him over the assault and attempts to mislead investigators.
He was convicted in June 2026 before receiving the 40-year sentence in November.
THE ISSUES
The case highlights concerns about the abuse of police authority, particularly where officers exploit their official positions to target vulnerable people.
Asomuyide used his position as a patrol officer to take the teenager into custody, transport her to a youth facility and later gain access to her while she was staying with a family friend.
The decision to switch off his body-worn camera, use his personal phone to establish contact with the teenager and subsequently attempt to conceal evidence formed part of the prosecution’s case.
The previous allegation involving a 15-year-old girl in Virginia also raises concerns about how the circumstances surrounding an officer’s departure from a previous police department are assessed during recruitment.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“The Department of Justice takes civil rights abuses seriously, including those committed by the small minority of police officers that betray public trust.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon.
“This defendant exploited the badge in one of the worst ways imaginable.”
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, Tom Wheeler.
“The very people entrusted with protecting children must never become the ones who victimise them.”
FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge, Timothy J. O’Malley.
WHAT’S NEXT
Asomuyide is expected to serve 40 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, under the sentence handed down in November.
BOTTOM LINE
The 40-year sentence followed a federal conviction supported by evidence including patrol vehicle GPS records, DNA findings and forensic examination of the former officer’s phone. The case also brought renewed attention to the need for accountability when law enforcement officers abuse the authority entrusted to them.
