Northampton child rapist jailed for 17 years after he was charged with 19 offences

Jason Yongblah, aged 56, formerly of Weedon Close, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on January 24 to be sentenced, after he admitted four charges and after being found guilty of the others.

The 56-year-old was arrested after a relative of a victim saw inappropriate text messages. His offending escalated from sexual touching to rape, and also saw him send a victim multiple inappropriate text messages.

During the trial, Yongblah denied that one of the photos used in evidence was of him, resulting in intimate photos having to be obtained of him whilst in custody for comparison purposes, according to Northamptonshire Police.

Yongblah was convicted of one count of rape of a child, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, seven counts of sexually assaulting a child, three counts of sexual assaulting a child by penetration and one count of taking an indecent photograph of a child. He had previously admitted one count of sexual communication with a child and three counts of making indecent images of a child.

Speaking afterwards, investigating officer Detective Constable Kirstie Brooks, of CAIU, said: “Jason Yongblah is a sexual predator who is now behind bars where he belongs, unable to harm anyone else.

“The survivor has been incredibly brave, from coming forward to tell us what Yongblah did to her, to seeing the case through to trial and his conviction.

“Her courage and resilience have seen her reclaim the power Yongblah thought he had over her, and I hope that seeing her abuser brought to account and jailed helps her continue to heal and thrive.

“People like Jason Yongblah have no place in our communities, and as this case demonstrates, we are dedicated to protecting children and bringing those who harm them to justice.”

Yongblah was given an extended sentence – used for criminals convicted of specific offences who are deemed to be dangerous – made up of a total of 17 years’ imprisonment and a further one year on licence. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, designed to prevent further offending once he is released.