July 28, 2020
By: Staff Report, DOJ PR
ORLANDO, Fla. – Todd Joseph Simmerman (30, Titusville) has been sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting two minors and committing the offenses while required to register as a sex offender. The court also ordered Simmerman to forfeit the electronic device he had used to commit the offenses.
Simmerman had pleaded guilty on January 27, 2020.
According to court documents, in 2013, Simmerman pleaded guilty 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. Six months after completing his state sentence, Simmerman met a 15-year-old on Snapchat and enticed the child to engage in sexual activity.
The child victim introduced Simmerman to a 15-year-old friend and Simmerman also preyed upon that child. Simmerman used his cellphone to record his sexually abusive encounters with both victims, which occurred over a period of about five months, until his arrest.
“This repeated child predator will spend the rest of his natural life in prison, thanks to HSI special agents and our partners at the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office,” said HSI Orlando Assistant Special Agent in Charge David J. Pezzutti. “While we cannot undo the damage of his horrible crimes, we hope that this sentence helps with the healing process for his victim.”
This 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 by the Department of Justice 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.