By Ayo Kehinde 
A former police officer of Nigerian descent in the United States, Sinmi Asomuyide, has been indicted in a case of alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl while on duty.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Asomuyide, 31, allegedly transported the teenage victim in his marked patrol car while in uniform and sexually assaulted her in 2021.
Federal prosecutors say the assault included aggravated sexual abuse and kidnapping, all carried out while Asomuyide was exercising official authority as a law enforcement officer.
The two-count indictment was unsealed on Thursday, July 24.
The first count of the indictment charges, “Asomuyide, who was 31 years old, with willfully depriving Minor #1, who was 14 years old, of her constitutional rights by sexually assaulting her.”
The first count also charges that the defendant’s conduct included kidnapping.
The second count of the indictment charges, “Asomuyide with lying to the Indiana State Police to try to cover up the assault by, among other things, denying having sexual contact with Minor #1 and denying that there would be any reason for the presence of his semen in his squad car when, in fact, he ejaculated inside his squad car after causing Minor #1’s hand to touch his exposed penis.”
The case was presented before a federal grand jury in Indiana, which returned the indictment earlier this month. He was arrested in the Northern District of Texas and will be transferred to Indiana for court proceedings.
The DOJ emphasised that the charge stems from the former officer’s alleged abuse of power to deprive the victim of her constitutional rights, a federal civil rights offence that could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.
While an investigation is being led by the FBI Indianapolis Field Office, the case is being prosecuted by attorneys from the DOJ Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted, Asomuyide faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Meanwhile, the Kokomo Police Department has not issued a public statement regarding the indictment of its former officer.
