Todd Joseph Simmerman, Sexually Exploiting Children, Florida 2020

Todd Joseph Simmerman, a 30-year-old from Titusville, Florida, has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting two minors.

According to court documents, Simmerman pleaded guilty on January 27, 2020, to sexually exploiting a 15-year-old on Snapchat and a 15-year-old friend of the child. He used his cellphone to record his sexually abusive encounters with both victims over a period of about five months until his arrest.

Simmerman had previously pleaded guilty in 2013 to traveling to meet a child to engage in unlawful sexual conduct, after using a computer to lure a child, in violation of Florida law. As part of his sentence, he was required to register as a sex offender.

U.S. District Judge Roy B. Dalton, Jr. ordered Simmerman to forfeit the electronic device he had used to commit the offenses.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Karen L. Gable.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Simmerman's sentence serves as a reminder that child predators will be held accountable for their crimes and will face severe consequences.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdfl/pr/repeat-sex-offender-sentenced-60-years-sexually-exploiting-children