A former British Airways pilot has been jailed after raping a 12-year-old girl he met and groomed on Instagram. Kwame Yeboah, 30, of Drake Way, Reading, first made contact with the child online late last year. He spent three years working for the airline and two years based at Heathrow Airport in the role of first officer pilot, according to his LinkedIn profile.

But he was arrested and charged with three counts of rape after travelling from Reading to Merseyside to meet the child in February. The paedophile met the girl in the evening, drove her around, then took her to an isolated spot where he raped her three times. Yeboah pleaded guilty to all charges at Liverpool Crown Court on April 22. He was sentenced to nine years and four months in prison on Wednesday (June 24).

Senior Crown Prosecutor, Thomas Hanlon, from CPS Mersey-Cheshire’s Rape and Serious Sexual Offences unit, said: "Kwame Yeboah would have known early on in his contact with this child that she was not the age she initially claimed to be.

"She spoke about school and sent images of herself in school uniform. When he met her in person, it would have been obvious that she was a very young child. Despite this, Yeboah deliberately took her to an isolated location where he raped her three times."

Mr Hanlon said Yeboah groomed the victim into believing she was in a relationship with someone who cared about her. He added: "In reality, he was an adult man who abused his position and exploited her for his own sexual gratification."

After meeting online, the girl initially told Yeboah she was 17. The Crown Prosecution Service said their conversations began "ordinarily".

But the nature of later messages and the way she looked when they met in person would have made it clear to him she was much younger and could not consent to having sex with him, according to the CPS.

Sick Yeboah sent the girl X-rated pictures of himself and their chats became more sexual. He rang her about twice a week, luring her in by making her think she was important to him and he cared about her.

After raping her three times, he dumped her back where he had picked her up and drove off. The child later told police she struggled to process what was happening and felt nervous and confused.

Yeboah was caught after a friend of the girl told her mum and the police were called. Detectives identified him from the details he had shared with the girl. He answered "no comment" during police interviews.

A BA spokesperson said: "We’ve been sickened to hear of the despicable actions of this individual and we can only imagine the pain he has inflicted.

"All of our thoughts are and will remain with the young person and their family as they try to repair the unthinkable damage and hurt they have suffered."

Before his career crashed to the ground, the former BA pilot boasted about his career on social media. An image posted on Instagram shows him posing outside a BA jet, with the caption: "I love when they say I can't go higher, I'm a frequent flyer!".

In another post in June 2023, Yeboah can be seen smiling in his pilot's uniform as he strides through an airport. He thanks his mother and brother for helping him achieve his dream of being a BA pilot in the caption of that post, adding: "Dreams really do come true with hard work and dedication! Upwards and onwards!".

Posts on LinkedIn show the basketball fan played at county and regional levels, besides acting as a freelance referee for Basketball England.