A football coach has been jailed after sexually assaulting seven teenage boys.
Emmanuel Igwebuike, 35, received a 15-year prison sentence at the Inner London Crown Court on Friday after being found guilty of 22 counts of sexual assault.
He was also given a lifelong Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
Igwebuike ran his own coaching academy in south west London, carrying out the attacks after building a trusting relationship with the boys by promising to further their football careers.
The seven male victims were all aged between 14 to 18 at the time of the offences.
Igwebuike reportedly targeted boys at a local church or after seeing them train in local parks.
The offences were committed between June 2019 and April 2021 at various locations including former home addresses of Igwebuike in Lambeth and Putney and a hotel in Birmingham.
Detective Constable Elaine Hutton, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Command, said:"These offences committed by Igwebuike are of an extremely serious nature. They have had a significant impact on the life of the young victims and especially their families who trusted him and were subject to his manipulation. I would like to thank them all for their bravery during this investigation.
“We are keen to establish whether there are other victims of Igwebuike who have yet to come forward. Anyone who believes they were a victim of Igwebuike is asked to contact police.”
Igwebuike was not affiliated with the FA or any local football clubs.
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