Indiana State Police Sgt. Matthew Simmons of Columbus, a trooper assigned to work in Bartholomew County for more than a decade, has been fired for conduct unbecoming an employee, according to state police documents.
Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash received a letter dated Sept. 18 from the Indiana State Police internal investigations section notifying prosecuting attorneys across the state that allegations against Simmons included concerns about the trooper’s truthfulness and veracity.
The termination document involving Simmons alleges the trooper had an inappropriate relationship in February 2017 with a 14-year-old girl, who had reportedly been previously molested. Simmons partially admitted to that accusation and was fired Sept. 4, the state police said.
State police investigators said Simmons lied repeatedly during the internal affairs investigation conducted in 2016, which Simmons denied.
According to the document explaining Simmons’ firing, he had been asked to distance himself from the investigation into the child molesting allegation, but from November through December 2016 continued to meet with and discuss the details of the child molesting with the victim. During the investigation, Simmons denied this allegation, according to the document.
Simmons was also accused of conveying false information to a fellow officer when his conduct was the subject of a complaint to Indiana State Police, according to the disciplinary action filing. Simmons was accused of telling another officer that the deputy prosecutor only directed him to refrain from discussing counseling with the 14-year-old victim, when he had told another officer in an inquiry interview that the deputy prosecutor had cautioned him about having further involvement in the investigation, according to the document. Simmons denied this allegation, the document states.
In another accusation of conveying false information Simmons was accused of telling a fellow officer that in 2017, he was mowing and put his cell phone in the pocket of his shorts, and that the phone made contact and pressed the pin code in to do a factor reset, when in fact the cell phone did not reset itself, the document states. Simmons denies this allegation, according to the document.
He was also accused of conveying false information on April 13 when, during an internal investigation interview, he told an officer that he did not touch the female juvenile’s face with his thumbs after discussing with her that thumbs reminded her of a penis, when officers said Simmons did commit this act, the document states. Simmons also denies this allegation, according to the document.
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