A predator who groomed and raped a 12-year-old girl in south London has been jailed for 16 years.
Richard Bosworth, 41, was jailed on Tuesday at Kingston Crown Court after travelling 125 miles from his hometown in Coalville, Leicestershire to Twickenham to abuse the victim in September 2024.
Bosworth earlier admitted two counts of rape and seven other sexual offences, including sexual assault.
The court heard how Bosworth groomed the young girl on the social media platform BeFriend, pretending to be a young teenager.
He groomed her for a month under the fake profile, before travelling to London to commit his offences by picking the girl up in his car in the early hours of September 19, 2024.
Five days later, the victim’s mother alerted police after her daughter confided in school friends that she had been abused by Bosworth.
Police said they managed to track him down despite the very little evidence presented on his fake profile because they obtained the number behind the BeFriend profile, and tracked how it had ‘pinged’ off mobile phone masts while en-route to the victim’s home.
They then matched these timings with CCTV footage, and spotted a car travelling through those areas - which was identified as belonging to Bosworth. He was arrested at his Leicestershire home on October 1.
Met Detective Inspector Kieran Curry, who led the investigation, paid tribute to the survivor in the case, saying her account had proved crucial in putting Bosworth behind bars.
“Her and her family’s cooperation has put this dangerous predator behind bars,” he said.
“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.”
As well as serving 16 years in prison, Bosworth will be made to register for life as a sex offender.
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