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Carmine Simpson, age 26, of Holbrook, was arrested on Thursday, Jan. 28, on charges related to sexually explicit images and videos of children that the defendant requested and received from minors who he targeted on Twitter, said Seth DuCharme, Acting U.S. States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.
“Instead of protecting the community as a sworn police officer, the defendant has preyed upon and sexually exploited the most vulnerable members,” DuCharme said following Simpon's arrest.
According to court filings, Simpson, allegedly targeted vulnerable children on Twitter for the purpose of having them create sexually exploitative photos and videos of themselves.
Simpson often represented to his victims that he was 17 years old, and he sent them pictures of himself where he applied a filter to alter his own appearance so that he appeared younger.
Simpson communicated with at least 46 children who appear to have been between the ages of 13 and 17. On Twitter alone, Simpson obtained at least 18 photographic images and 33 videos containing sexually exploitative material from children.
During these conversations, Simpson suggested migrating from Twitter to other online applications, such as Snapchat, TikTok, and Discord, and often asked his victims if they had X-box, suggesting they could play video games together, the complaint said.
He repeatedly asked his victims to FaceTime with him so that they could engage in phone sex. And most disturbingly, Simpson was not only verbally abusive but he also encouraged certain victims to engage in destructive behavior, such as cutting themselves with a knife, choking themselves with belts, and hitting themselves, the court filing said.
For instance, in September of 2020, Simpson engaged a girl, who appears to have been approximately 13 years old, in a direct conversation on Twitter. The defendant groomed the girl with flattery, and gradually progressed to asking her for nude images of herself and suggesting that they have “FaceTime sex.”
The complaint also says that Simpson encouraged young girls to harm themselves and engage in vulgar and harmful sexual acts.
Simpson, who lives with his parents, was arrested at his home in Holbrook, Long Island. His father is a retired cop.
He was ordered held without bail pending his next court appearance.
Police said that Simpson, a two-year veteran of the department, was suspended without pay after he was taken into custody.
The FBI began probing Simpson after receiving anonymous tips about his crimes, according to the complaint.
If convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, Simpson faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment.
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