Ismail Adewumi 27

Description

This is the face of a paedophile school worker who was described as a 'victim' due his taboo secret. Ismail Adewumi groomed and sexually attacked a 13-year-old boy at a time when his family were trying to find him a wife.

The 26-year-old from Holte Road, Sparkbrook was jailed for two years and eight months after admitting two counts of sexual activity with a boy and one count of sexual communication with a child. The victim was not a pupil at Redstone Academy in Balsall Heath where Adewumi worked in administration.

The school immediately suspended him and contacted the police when they became aware of a sick video of him on the toilet that he had sent the boy. But as Adewumi was sentenced earlier this month Birmingham Crown Court was told he was a 'victim of circumstances' himself due to the difficulties of being homosexual in his community.

Lynette McLement, defending, revealed he would not even speak to a male barrister about the case. She said: "Things could be seen to reach crisis point in 2020. It was then the need to marry him off became pressing and it was clear and apparent his mother, with other family members, took the decision to find him a wife.

"This of course was in-effect pressure brought to bear on a young man unable to talk about the reason for not wishing to do so. He had not had the ability to talk to anybody about any sexual feelings. It was something he said 'nobody did'.

"He had never had a girlfriend - he wasn't allowed. No discussion about sexual leanings. The first person he spoke to who took a light-hearted attitude and joked about sex was this young man."

Ms McLement argued Adewumi was attracted to the boy because he was male, not because of his age, adding that sexuality was a 'taboo topic' in the defendant's community. She said: "Rather than a predator this man was a victim of circumstances, as so many others are who come to the court, where their own sexual identity is denied them. This is very much that situation."

Messages between Adewumi and the boy escalated from 'banter' about the PlayStaton to 'troubling' exchanges which included a reference to phone sex. At one point he told the victim he would 'strip you in the street and tie you to a lamppost'.

Adewumi referred to the boy as 'darling' and 'babes' as well as sent inappropriate videos of himself. The grooming behaviour culminated on a night they were together when he repeatedly groped the boy during a two-hour ordeal. The victim subsequently reported the attack to someone else who informed the school.

Sadaat Rasool, headteacher at Redstone Academy, told Birmingham Live: "Suspicious behaviour was brought to our attention so we immediately followed safeguarding guidelines, suspended the employee and made appropriate contact with relevant agencies including the police and the DBS. Safeguarding in the school is of upmost importance and we ensure all staff are trained and up-to-date with how to identify and raise concerns."

Judge Roderick Henderson, sentencing Adewumi, said: "I don't at all underestimate the difficulty you found in your community but the core of this case and what makes it so serious is he was so much younger than you. You were a full adult. You knew this nine-years-younger-than-you boy was in a completely different category and you did, no doubt in the confused state you were in, exploit him and caused real damage."