WILMINGTON, Del. - Kirk A. Simmons, age 60, of Newark, Delaware, was sentenced earlier today to 10 years in federal prison for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422(b). Simmons also was sentenced to 10 years of supervised release following his prison sentence. He also will be required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works, or attends school.
At the time of his criminal conduct, Simmons was employed as a Vice President, Market Information Manager II at Bank of America’s Newark, Delaware facility. Bank of America terminated Simmons’s employment following notification of his criminal conduct.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Simmons was arrested by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force on July 18, 2013, after he arrived at a Newark hotel to engage in sex acts with two persons he believed to be a 13-year-old girl and her biological father. Approximately one month earlier, in June 2013, Simmons responded to a “personals" advertisement on an adult social networking website. Simmons believed the advertisement had been posted by the father of a 13-year-old girl who the father would make available for sex with adult males. In fact, the “father" was actually an undercover Delaware State Police detective assigned to the Delaware Child Predator Task Force.
Over the course of the next month, Simmons and the undercover detective engaged in numerous online chat conversations in which Simmons indicated and graphically described that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the purported “father" and his child. After a number of online conversations, Simmons and the “father" agreed to meet at a Newark hotel on July 18, 2013, where they both would engage in sex acts with the “13-year-old daughter."
On the morning of July 18, 2013, Simmons left his office at Bank of America’s Deerfield facility and drove to a Newark hotel, where he was arrested by Child Predator Task Force members. In a recorded interview with a Delaware State Police detective, Simmons admitted that he intended to engage in sexual activity with the fictitious “father" and “13-year-old daughter" at the hotel. Simmons also admitted that he brought a digital camera with him to photograph the sexual activity.
Following the sentencing hearing, United States Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III stated: “I want to thank the Delaware Child Predator Task Force for its outstanding work in this case. This was a time-intensive, month-long, online undercover investigation that resulted in the capture of a seemingly upstanding and successful businessman who planned to rape a child with her father’s help. I would also like to thank the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for its continued and successful partnership with our State law enforcement partners on this critically important work."
“The Delaware Child Predator Task Force works hard every day to identify and arrest dangerous predators like this defendant who are searching our communities for young victims," Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden said. “Our children are safer today because of that work and the shared commitment of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners. Our work to protect kids never ends."
“Today’s sentencing serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of sexually exploiting children," said John Kelleghan, special agent in charge of HSI Philadelphia. “HSI and our law enforcement partners are relentless in our pursuit of those who prey on children and engage in this perverse behavior."
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Edward J. McAndrew and investigated by the Delaware State Police and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
