US Marshals are searching for Darren Simmons, a convicted sex offender from Kenosha, Wisconsin, who allegedly cut off his GPS monitoring bracelet and went missing in April.
The 31-year-old has links to Kenosha and Racine and is wanted after authorities said he breached the conditions of his supervision. Investigators have appealed to the public for information about his whereabouts.
Darren Simmons wanted by US Marshals
Simmons came to the attention of police in 2017 after prosecutors said he contacted an underage girl online and persuaded her to attend a party in Kenosha.
He was 21 at the time, while the girl was 14. Investigators said Simmons sexually assaulted her at the gathering, and he later pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault of a child.
Following his conviction, Simmons was sent to prison and placed on Wisconsin’s lifetime sex offender registry. Authorities said he was required to keep the state informed of his current address.
Racine police and US Marshals task force officer Scott Keland said Simmons had subsequently been convicted of fleeing from police and of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements.
“Two separate years, he’s convicted of failure to provide a new address to the sex offender registry, resulting in more time and more probation,” Mr Keland said.
Authorities said Simmons was placed on GPS monitoring in April. When his probation officer contacted him, the officer allegedly heard children playing and laughing in the background.
According to Mr Keland, Simmons acknowledged that he was near children, which investigators said was a direct violation of the terms of his supervision. The same day, authorities said, he removed his electronic monitoring bracelet and disappeared.
Simmons is described as being 6ft tall and weighing about 210lb. Investigators believe he may be in the Kenosha or Racine area, although his current location is not known.
“He needs to turn himself in,” Mr Keland said. “He needs to face the violation that occurred.”
Anyone with information about Simmons’s whereabouts is asked to contact the US Marshals tip line on 414-297-3707. Tips can be provided anonymously.
