Pervert who groped schoolgirl in Leeds tower-block lift is jailed

Emmanuel Opoku Nsiah was convicted of sexual assault following a three-day trial at Leeds Crown Court in June.

The 51-year-old put his hands around the terrified girl when they were alone in the lift and kissed her on the cheek, telling her he wanted to be friends and to meet her later.

He returned to court this week for sentencing and was handed an immediate 12-month sentence.

Judge Howard Crowson told him: “You say it was misguided friendship with no sexual motive. The jury rejected that.

“You took advantage of the circumstance. She was left alone with you and felt particularly vulnerable.

“It had an impact on her. She fears walkling alone and her self confidence has been badly affected.”

Judge Crowson said that despite the assault being brief and Nsiah having no previous convictions, he said he could have “no confidence” that he would adhere to a community sentence, especially that he was now homeless and was now “sofa surfing”.

During the trial is was heard that the girl had been returning from school on March 27, 2023, entered the building where she lived with her family and waited for the lift.

A second woman was also waiting, while the young girl let Nsiah into the building through the locked, fob-accessed front door.

CCTV was played to the court taken from the lobby of the building in Leeds, and from the lift.

All three entered the lift, with the woman getting out first, leaving Nsiah alone with the girl.

The 51-year-old struck up a conversation, bizarrely asking if they could be friends.

The girl was nervous and agree, so as not to upset him. He told her he liked her school uniform and asked to meet her the next day. Again, she agreed out of fear.

He then moved towards her, put his hands around her waist and kissed her on the cheek.

The girl then arrived at her floor and left the lift, but could see Nsiah smiling at her. She immediately told her father, who contacted the police.

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In a video-recorded interview with the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, she told officers: “I could feel my heart beating, I was really scared. I did not know what to do.”

Nsiah, of no fixed address, accepted he was in the lift but denied his actions were sexual, and that he only “air kissed” the girl.

However, the jury did not believe his account.

Nsiah was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and put on the sex offender register for 10 years.