10 Year Sentence For Online Groomer Who Abused Young Girls

Ruhel Miah, 48, sentenced to 10 years for posing as teen on Snapchat, grooming, and abusing girls. CPS secures conviction in child sexual abuse case.

Ruhel Miah, a 48-year-old former warehouse worker from Walsall, has been sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment at Wolverhampton Crown Court for grooming and sexually abusing three young girls. He pleaded guilty to a string of child sec offences which had resulted in “great harm.”

Miah, born on 24 April 1977, pleaded guilty to 15 charges, including sexual assault of a child under 13, sexual activity with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and sexual communication with a child.

The case, prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation by West Midlands Police, revealed Miah’s calculated deception. Posing as a 15-year-old boy on the social media platform Snapchat, he targeted vulnerable young girls, initiating contact under false pretences.

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Miah methodically cultivated emotional connections with his victims before steering interactions toward explicit sexual content. His predatory actions escalated to in-person encounters, where he either arranged meetings or appeared unannounced at locations he knew the girls could be found. There, he coerced them into his vehicle and made them perform sexual acts, which he recorded on his mobile phone. These recordings were later recovered by authorities, forming critical evidence in the case.

Robbie Weber, a Specialist Prosecutor within the CPS’s Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, part of the Serious Economic and Organised Crime International Directorate (SEOCID), described Miah’s actions as a grave betrayal of trust. “Ruhel Miah, a man in his 40s, exploited social media to masquerade as a teenager, targeting and manipulating young girls for his own gratification,” Weber stated. “His actions caused profound harm, both online and in person, and reflect a deliberate pattern of abuse.”

The CPS commended the courage of the victims, whose willingness to come forward enabled prosecutors to construct a robust case, compelling Miah to enter guilty pleas. Weber emphasized the CPS’s commitment to tackling child sexual exploitation, stating, “We are resolute in our pursuit of justice for victims of such heinous crimes. Through close collaboration with law enforcement, we aim to dismantle networks of abuse and safeguard vulnerable individuals from exploitation.”