A Camp Pendleton Marine was charged with a number of felony counts of sexual exploitation of kids final month after allegedly sending express photographs and movies of himself to center faculty college students and threatening them with rape, in keeping with {a partially} redacted affidavit obtained by Navy.com.
Pfc. Justin Ryder Simmons, 19, was arrested June 16 at Camp Pendleton, California. He was extradited to his house state of Colorado later that month the place he was booked right into a county jail on a $25,000 bond after which subsequently launched, in keeping with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Workplace in Colorado.
Simmons was charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a kid by enticement, possession of kid sexual abuse materials, and two counts of web sexual exploitation of a kid after he communicated with the center schoolers by a web based social media app. The sheriff’s workplace stated that he was later taken into custody in San Diego.
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The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Workplace investigators stated they imagine “there may very well be extra victims” of Simmons, in keeping with a social media publish Tuesday. The workplace stated he was now not in custody, and representatives for the San Diego County Sheriff’s Workplace didn’t reply to Navy.com’s inquiry about his incarceration standing by deadline Thursday.
In response to the affidavit, Simmons allegedly despatched sexually express photos of himself, together with some in uniform however nude from the waist down. The affidavit stated that Simmons “knew or believed [the children] to be beneath fifteen years of age,” and that there have been two victims who had been situated in Colorado on the time of the contact.
“Based mostly on how the women had been discovered they usually weren’t identified to him, I imagine that there may very well be extra those that he was chatting with based mostly on the forms of conversations they had been having,” Jamie Wright, an investigator with the Web Crimes Towards Youngsters Unit on the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Workplace, advised Navy.com on Thursday. She stated Simmons didn’t know the victims earlier than he contacted them on social media and that the unique report was obtained from their faculty useful resource officer.
A separate man included within the affidavit additionally allegedly tried to sexually exploit the identical youngsters by the social media app, providing them vapes and medicines in alternate for sexual acts. He was additionally charged with sexual exploitation of a kid, amongst different counts.
Investigators with the ICAC unit in Arapahoe County documented messages from Simmons and a sufferer beginning in January, which included threats of rape and and that he wouldn’t “cease even in the event you’re unconscious,” in keeping with the affidavit.
He corresponded with the youngsters from Camp Pendleton however allegedly stated he would meet not less than one of many alleged victims in Colorado with the intent to have intercourse, the court docket document alleged, although he by no means did, in keeping with Wright. The affidavit redacted the title of the minors, and Navy.com doesn’t determine the names of alleged sexual abuse victims.
“On the request of the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Workplace, NCIS carried out fundamental checks and coordinated with the bottom Justice of the Peace and native legislation enforcement to facilitate the protected switch of Simmons to civilian authorities,” stated Nikki Fleming, a spokesperson for the Naval Prison Investigative Service.
“NCIS didn’t conduct any impartial investigative actions on this matter,” Fleming stated, however added that “NCIS stays dedicated to supporting our Marine Corps counterparts and legislation enforcement companions when referred to as upon.”
Simmons enlisted within the Marine Corps lower than a 12 months in the past as a meteorology and oceanography specialist, in keeping with Maj. Hector Infante, a spokesperson for the Marine Corps. He stays on lively obligation and was stationed on the Faculty of Infantry-West at Camp Pendleton as a scholar.
“These allegations are at the moment being investigated by civilian legislation enforcement, and no additional info is obtainable right now,” Infante stated when requested whether or not Simmons can be going through Uniform Code of Navy Justice or different navy authorized actions reminiscent of separation or court-martial.
It was unclear whether or not Simmons had authorized illustration, and CBS News reported that he’s attributable to seem in Arapahoe County Courtroom early subsequent month. A cellphone quantity posted by investigators on social media allegedly belonging to Simmons appeared disconnected when contacted.
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