A D.C. man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday for sexually abusing a teenage girl, according to the United State’s Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
Investigators say Jerome J. Simmons, had sexual video calls and text messages with the daughter of a woman he was dating before escalating to hands-on abuse of the 13-year-old girl.
Simmons pleaded guilty in October 2021, to a charge of first-degree child sexual abuse with aggravating circumstances in D.C.’s Superior Court, according to a news release.
Simmons was in a romantic relationship with the victim’s mother and in December 2020, when the girl was 14, she told authorities that Simmons sexually abused her on multiple occasions in Southeast D.C. when she was 13 and 14, according to court documents.
An investigation determined that Simmons started the abuse when the girl was 13 by giving her a cellphone and texting her on it, according to the release.
He texted that cellphone to ask her for photos of her body. He also had explicit video calls with the girl, which eventually turned into hands-on abuse, the release said.
In a search of the defendant’s cellphone, police found graphic photos and videos depicting the victim, according to the release.
Simmons was arrested on Dec. 26, 2020, and has been in custody since then, the release said.
Following completion of his 15-year prison term, Simmons will be placed on five years of supervised release and will be required to register as a sex offender for 10 years, according to the release.
