U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Jason R. Hicks-Simpson to 30 years in prison for recording his rape of a minor with an intellectual disability. The sentencing took place on Friday.
In March 2024, the victim's mother contacted the Poplar Bluff Police Department regarding Hicks-Simpson. According to the plea agreement, the victim reported that Hicks-Simpson had been sexually abusing her since she was five years old and had threatened to kill her and her kittens if she revealed the abuse. Hicks-Simpson admitted to police that there was only one incident several months earlier, but investigators found videos dating back to May 2023 on his phone.
Hicks-Simpson, a 46-year-old resident of Poplar Bluff, pleaded guilty in October in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Following this federal sentence, he will be transferred to state court for further charges.
The case was investigated by the Poplar Bluff Police Department and the FBI, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuting.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals exploiting children via the Internet while identifying and rescuing victims.