Springfield man sentenced to federal prison on child porn, exploitation of child charges
A federal judge sentenced a Springfield man to 35 years in the Bureau of Prisons on charges of sexual exploitation of a child and the distribution and receipt of child pornography among several others.
James Simons, 32, is a registered sex offender and pled guilty in December before his sentencing from U.S. District Judge Colleen R. Lawless earlier this week. His sentence, ending in 2059, will be followed with lifetime of supervised release.
Per a news release, the court found Simons discussed engaging in sexual activity with an individual he believed to be 15 in addition to asking for their address and sending child porn to the minor. He drove to the child's house in August 2020 with the intent of engaging in sexual activity before being arrested on the scene.
More: Child development center employee faces child porn charges in Sangamon County
Simons was indicted in September 2020 and has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals since his arrest. He was also charged with the attempted enticement of a minor, use of interstate facilities to attempt to transmit information about a minor, attempted transfer of obscene material to a minor, and penalties for registered sex offenders.
Involved in the case were the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office with assistance from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations; the Springfield Police Department; and the Illinois State Police.
Contact Patrick M. Keck: 312-549-9340, pkeck@gannett.com, twitter.com/@pkeckreporter.
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois man sentenced 35 years in federal prison on sex crime charges
