U.S. Marshals are asking the public to help locate 31-year-old Darren Simmons, a Kenosha man authorities say cut off his GPS ankle monitor and disappeared in April. Simmons, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl, has ties to both Kenosha and Racine.
Simmons's underlying conviction dates to 2017, when prosecutors said he contacted an underage girl online and lured her to a party. Investigators said he forced himself on the 14-year-old there. He was 21 at the time, according to FOX6 News Milwaukee.
Guilty Plea Led to Lifetime Registry
Simmons pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault of a child and was sentenced to prison, the report says. The conviction placed him on Wisconsin's lifetime sex-offender registry, requiring him to keep the registry department informed of his current address. He later received additional time and probation, according to the account.
That was not the only trouble Simmons ran into with the law. He was also convicted of fleeing from Racine police and of not following sex offender rules, per the same account. In two separate years, he was convicted of failing to provide a new address to the sex offender registry, a pattern authorities say shows a repeated disregard for the terms meant to keep him monitored.
What a supervision violation means
According to Wisconsin Department of Corrections guidance, a supervision violation occurs when a person fails to follow conditions imposed by a sentencing court or supervising agent, or commits a new crime while under supervision. The guidance separately defines revocation as a response that terminates supervision. The material cited here does not specify a particular penalty for Simmons's alleged address-reporting violations or GPS-monitor tampering. It does establish that failing to follow supervision conditions can be treated as a violation, while the article's account says Simmons was required to report his address to the sex-offender registry for life.
GPS Monitor Cut Off the Same Day It Was Attached
Authorities say the latest incident began after Simmons acknowledged that he had been around children, which they considered a violation of his supervision. He was fitted with a GPS monitor in April, but authorities say he cut it off that same day and disappeared. He has not been located since.
WISCONSIN'S MOST WANTED: U.S. Marshals are looking for Darren Simmons, a man convicted of forcing himself on — Threads @fox6now
“Darren admits that he's around kids at that time, which is a direct violation of his supervision,” task force officer Scott Keland told FOX6. Keland said Simmons should turn himself in and address the alleged supervision violation.
Description and How to Report Tips
Simmons is described as 6 feet tall and 210 pounds. Authorities say he has ties to Racine and Kenosha and may be hiding in either city. The reporting cited here draws on the Racine Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service, Wisconsin Circuit Court records and a FOX6 interview with Keland.
Anyone with information on Simmons's whereabouts is asked to call the U.S. Marshal Tip Line at 414-297-3707. Tipsters will remain anonymous, according to authorities. The case is part of an ongoing Wisconsin's Most Wanted series tracking fugitives across the state.
