Man to face molestation charge

The charge involves improper touching of a 6-year-old girl.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LISBON -- Arraignment will be June 17 in Columbiana County Common Pleas Court for a 52-year-old Wellsville man accused of molesting a child more than 20 years ago.
He also is facing trial on unrelated pornography charges.
A county grand jury secretly indicted David H. Simms this week for one count of gross sexual imposition, a third-degree felony for which Simms could be sentenced to two years in prison if he is convicted, said Tim McNicol, assistant county prosecutor.
McNicol said the charge involves improper touching of a girl, then 6 years old, between April 1983 and January 1984. He said the accusation was investigated 20 years ago, but the investigation did not result in criminal charges.
Here's a concern
Because Simms is near his trial date for the unrelated child pornography charges, McNicol declined to go into detail about why Simms was not charged before.
"I don't want to take a chance on tainting the jury pool," McNicol said.
He said Simms and the victim knew each other but are not related. The victim now is 28 and has been questioned by prosecutors, McNicol said.
Simms is scheduled for trial next month in common pleas court on nearly 50 counts of possessing and disseminating child pornography on his home computer. He faces a possible prison sentence of 50 years if he is convicted of those charges.
McNicol said authorities found out about the 20-year-old case while investigating the child pornography case. That's what led to Simms' being charged now, McNicol said.
He said the two cases are unrelated.
bjackson@vindy.com