Photographer who sold JonBenet Ramsey’s dolled-up snaps for $7,500 is charged with 15 COUNTS of encouraging child sex abuse after he logged into A&W’s public WiFi and ‘downloaded inappropriate and concerning images’
- Randall DeWitt Simons, 66, was hit with 15 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse and was arraigned on Thursday
- Simons pleaded not guilty to all of the charges
- The Oakridge resident was detained on July 2 by Springfield Police, who assisted Oakridge police in their June investigation of the man
- Police had received a July 2018 report from A&W that someone was using the eatery’s WiFi to download inappropriate images
- They used software to determine that the computer was near the eatery
- Simons was JonBenet Ramsey’s photographer just months before her 1996 murder
- He is said to have sold a portfolio of photos of the Colorado beauty queen in makeup and curls for $7,500
- Lawrence Schiller’s book ‘Perfect Murder, Perfect Town’ tells how Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking down the street nude in Genoa, CO
- While getting arrested, he is said to have openly shared, ‘I didn’t kill JonBenet’
Randall DeWitt Simons, 66, was hit with 15 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse and was arraigned on Thursday. Simons pleaded not guilty to all of the charges
The photographer who took beauty photos of JonBenet Ramsey has been arrested and charged for child pornography in Oregon.
Randall DeWitt Simons, 66, was hit with 15 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse and was arraigned on Thursday. Simons pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.
The Oakridge resident was detained on July 2 by Springfield Police, who assisted Oakridge police in their June investigation of the man, the Register Guard reports.
The arrest follows a July 2018 report from A&W to the police that someone was using the eatery’s WiFi to download inappropriate images.
Following the report, police tracked the computer’s identification address from the restaurant’s WiFi system.
Police were then able to determine that the computer belonged to a man who lived in the area, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court this month.
Police used a special software program to gain access to Simons’ computer as it logged in to the A&W in real time. A device allowed police to determine where the signal was coming from.
Simons was JonBenet Ramsey’s photographer just months before her 1996 murder. He is said to have sold a portfolio of photos of the Colorado beauty queen in makeup and curls for $7,500
Police used a special software program to gain access to Simons’ computer as it logged in to the A&W in real time
Simons is due back in court on August 7 for a pre-trial conference.
Authorities were able to secure a warrant for Simons’ residence on June 27. There, they found four laptops, three camcorders, two bags of writable optical discs and six cameras.
After learning that Simons was a child photographer, police asked that anyone who left their children unattended with the man to contact Oackridge Police and the Lane County Sheriff’s Office.
A 1998 Associated Press story first revealed that Simons was JonBenet Ramsey’s photographer just months before her 1996 murder.
He is said to have sold a portfolio of photos of the Colorado beauty queen in makeup and curls for $7,500 and is said to have told reporters that his career was in jeopardy because he sold the images.
In October 1998, he was arrested for indecent exposure in Lincoln County, Colorado.
Lawrence Schiller’s book ‘Perfect Murder, perfect Town’ tells how Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking down the street nude in Genoa. While getting arrested, he is said to have openly shared. ‘I didn’t kill JonBenet’.
After hearing about the death in 2010 of police detective Lou Smits, who came out of retirement to to investigate JonBenet’s death, he wrote on Facebook: ‘I think there is VERY little chance now that her terrible murder will be solved’.
On the Facebook page, he says he graduated from ‘School of Hard Knocks’ where he studied ‘girl watching’.
On a Facebook page which appears to be run by Simons, he says he graduated from ‘School of Hard Knocks’ specializing in ‘girl watching’.