A former Kokomo police officer has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl while on duty in Indiana.
Sinmi Asomuyide, 33, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release after his prison term.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentence on Thursday, November 5. Asomuyide was convicted in June, following a five-day jury trial, of deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering, and destruction of records.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Asomuyide encountered the girl on June 30, 2024, while responding with another Kokomo Police Department officer to a 911 call from her father, who had reported her as a runaway. The officers found her at another minor’s home and took her to the Kinsey Youth Center.
As they entered the facility’s garage, Asomuyide turned off his body camera, violating department policy. He took the girl’s phone and used it to call his personal TextNow number, then questioned her about her sexual history. During a pat-down, he found a vape pen in her back pocket. At the youth center, he escorted her to a side room and said he would contact her later to return it.
The girl’s father arranged for a family friend to pick her up. Before leaving, she sent Asomuyide the username for one of her social media accounts; he asked for her TikTok username. They continued texting that evening. The girl believed he intended to return her vape pen, prosecutors said.
Later, Asomuyide requested overtime, saying he would complete paperwork at the police station between 10 p.m. and midnight. Instead, he left the station and went to the family friend’s apartment, where the girl was staying. Wearing his police uniform, he asked to speak with her privately about where she should stay. He then handcuffed her in his patrol car and drove to an empty warehouse parking lot, according to the Justice Department and the vehicle’s GPS data.
There, he removed the handcuffs, moved the girl to the front seat and sexually assaulted her. He handcuffed her again and drove her back to the apartment complex, prosecutors said.
The girl later reported the assault to family members and law enforcement, prompting an Indiana State Police investigation. A forensic examination of Asomuyide’s patrol car found a dried semen stain on the centre console that matched his DNA.
About a week after the assault, Asomuyide falsely told investigators that he had not given the girl his phone number and suggested she might have overheard him reciting it to a youth-center employee, the Justice Department said. He also claimed she had contacted him on a work phone, although Kokomo officers were not issued work phones. A forensic examination of his personal phone found searches made within hours of the assault, including “how to delete TextMe account” and “TextNow delete account.”
Earlier allegation in Virginia
The Justice Department said the Indiana case was not the first allegation of sexual misconduct involving a minor against Asomuyide. Before joining the Kokomo department, he served as an officer in Portsmouth, Virginia, and was forced to resign after an allegation that he had sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl while off duty.
When applying to join the Kokomo department, Asomuyide misrepresented the circumstances of his departure, according to the Justice Department. He said he had been forced to resign because he was “hanging out” with a 17-year-old girl who told him she was 19.
U.S. media reported in July 2024 that Kokomo had dismissed Asomuyide after an internal investigation. Indiana State Police investigated the allegations, and in July 2025 the Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury had indicted him in connection with the assault and attempts to mislead investigators. He was convicted in June 2026 and sentenced in November.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the department takes civil rights abuses seriously, including those committed by officers who betray public trust. She said Asomuyide would be held accountable and expressed hope that the victim could recover and move forward.
Tom Wheeler, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said Asomuyide had exploited his badge to assault a vulnerable child and try to conceal the crime. “The evidence told a different story,” Wheeler said, adding that the sentence sent a message that the authority of a badge could not shield anyone from accountability.
Timothy J. O’Malley, the FBI’s special agent in charge in Indianapolis, condemned the abuse and said the bureau remained committed to protecting children and pursuing people who prey on them.
Indiana State Police public information officer Captain Ron Galaviz said the agency aggressively investigates crimes against children, particularly when they are committed by people in positions of trust. He said the agency would remain committed to holding abusers accountable and protecting vulnerable members of the community.
