Former Kokomo officer sentenced to 40 years for sexually assaulting 14-year-old girl

INDIANAPOLIS — A former Kokomo police officer was sentenced to 40 years in federal prison after a jury convicted him of depriving a 14-year-old girl of her civil rights, witness tampering and destroying records, the U.S. Department of Justice said.

Sinmi Asomuyide, 33, will serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence. A jury found him guilty in June 2026 after a five-day trial.

According to court documents and trial evidence, Asomuyide first met the girl on June 30, 2024, while working as a patrol officer for the Kokomo Police Department. Her father called 911 earlier that day to report her missing as a runaway. Asomuyide and another officer found her at the home of another underage girl.

After taking the girl into custody, Asomuyide drove her to the Kinsey Youth Center. Court records say he violated department policy by turning off his body camera as he entered the facility’s sallyport garage. He also took the girl’s cellphone and used it to call his personal TextNow number before questioning her about her sexual history.

During a pat-down, Asomuyide found a vape pen in the girl’s back pocket. At the youth center, he took her to a side room and told her he would contact her later to return the vape pen.

A family friend picked the girl up from the youth center at her father’s direction. As she left, she sent Asomuyide the username for one of her social media accounts. He asked for her TikTok username. They continued texting that evening while Asomuyide finished his shift. The girl believed he intended to return her vape pen, court documents said.

Later that evening, Asomuyide returned to the police station and requested overtime, saying he would complete paperwork from 10 p.m. to midnight, according to court documents. Instead, he left the station to pick up the girl. Wearing his police uniform, he went to the family friend’s apartment and demanded to speak with her privately to determine where she should stay.

Asomuyide handcuffed the girl in the back of his squad car and drove to an empty warehouse parking lot, according to evidence from the car’s GPS data. He removed the handcuffs, moved her to the front seat and sexually assaulted her, court documents said. He then handcuffed her again and drove her back to the apartment complex.

The girl told family members and law enforcement about the assault, prompting an Indiana State Police investigation. During a forensic examination of Asomuyide’s patrol vehicle, investigators found a dried semen stain on the center console that matched his DNA, according to court evidence.

About a week after the assault, state police detectives interviewed Asomuyide. He falsely said he had not given the girl his phone number and suggested she might have overheard him reciting it to a Kinsey Youth Center employee, court documents said. He also said she had contacted him on a work phone, although Kokomo officers are not issued work phones.

A forensic examination of Asomuyide’s cellphone showed that within hours of the assault, he searched phrases including “how to delete text me account” and “TextNow delete account,” according to court evidence.

Before joining the Kokomo Police Department, Asomuyide worked as an officer for the Portsmouth Police Department in Virginia. He resigned after an allegation that he had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old while off duty, according to court documents. When he later applied to work in Kokomo, he misrepresented the reason for his resignation, saying he had been forced to leave because he was “hanging out” with a 17-year-old girl who told him she was 19.

“The Department of Justice takes civil rights abuses seriously, including those committed by the small minority of police officers that betray public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “This defendant will be held accountable for the kidnapping and sexual abuse of a child. We hope the victim will be able to recover and prosper despite this horrific episode.”

“This defendant exploited the badge in one of the worst ways imaginable,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “What makes these crimes particularly disturbing is that he used the very tools, training, and authority entrusted to him as a police officer not only to assault a vulnerable child, but to try to conceal it. The evidence told a different story, and today’s sentence sends a clear message that no one can use the authority of the badge as a shield from accountability.”

“The very people entrusted with protecting children must never become the ones who victimize them. This defendant preyed on a 14-year-old girl and then attempted to cover up his crimes,” said Timothy J. O’Malley, FBI Indianapolis special agent in charge. “That kind of calculated abuse is unconscionable. The FBI remains committed to protecting children and relentlessly pursuing those who prey on them.”

“The Indiana State Police aggressively investigates crimes committed against children, especially when perpetrated by individuals placed in positions of immense trust,” said Capt. Ron Galaviz, the agency’s chief public information officer. “It is unconscionable that someone in authority would abuse their power for personal gratification at the expense of an innocent child. We remain steadfast in our commitment to holding these abusers accountable and protecting the most vulnerable members of our communities.”

The FBI’s Indianapolis Division and Indiana State Police investigated the case. Chief U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II imposed the sentence.

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