A man has been jailed for raping a 12-year-old girl in Twickenham after grooming her for a month on a befriending app.
Richard Bosworth, 40, from Coalville, Leicestershire was sentenced to 16 years imprisonment for his crimes on March 4.
He previously pled guilty to two counts of rape alongside seven other sexual offences including sexual assault on a child under 13, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, meeting a child following sexual grooming, and assault by digital penetration and more.
Police were alerted to reports of the abuse by the victim's mother on September 23 last year, after her 12-year-old daughter had confided in friends about the ordeal.
The victim told her friends the abuse followed after a man reached out to her on BeFriend, a social media platform, pretending to be a young teen.
She told investigators he had picked her up in his car in the early hours of September 19, 2024, having used a fake profile to groom and communicate with her for a month prior.
Police say he left little evidence of his true 40-year-old identity, but was found using CCTV and the number behind his fake BeFriend profile.
Using his profile, detectives tracked the movement of his phone through London and to the victim's phone after it citied off telecom masts.
CCTV footage from the areas were also paired with this in evidence, allowing them to single out a car which was later found to belong to Bosworth.
On October 1 last year he was arrested at his home in Coalville and was charged with ten counts of rape, all relating to the same incident in September.
Alongside his 16-year sentence, Bosworth will be made to register for life as a sex offender.
As well as serving 16 years in prison, Bosworth will be made to register for life as a sex offender.
Det Insp Kieran Curry said: “I commend the young survivor in this case for her courage.
READ MORE: Suspected trespasser arrested after two-hour South Western train delays
"She found the strength to confide in officers, and her account of this appalling assault proved crucial in securing Bosworth’s conviction. Her and her family’s cooperation has put this dangerous predator behind bars.
“Bosworth travelled from Leicestershire to abuse his victim in Twickenham. He is a devious offender, who ensured he left very little evidence for police to pursue.
“It is a testament to our investigative teams that they succeeded in identifying Bosworth, combing over large amounts of CCTV evidence and phone data in order to apprehend him and secure a conviction.”
Share