Bartholomew County Prosecutor Bill Nash is seeking a special prosecutor to investigate allegations from the Indiana State Police involving one of their troopers who was fired for conduct unbecoming an employee.
The request for a special prosecutor follows the release of information about the disciplinary action taken against Indiana State Police Sgt. Matthew Simmons of Columbus, a trooper assigned to work in Bartholomew County for more than a decade.
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.
In a Thursday statement to media, the state police said investigators conducted a criminal investigation and then forwarded it to the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office for review.
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The state police statement included this information: “It was the decision of the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s Office to not pursue criminal charges related to actions noted in the Finding and Order.” The state police Finding and Order document details the reasons that Simmons was fired.
After further checking of internal documents, Nash said Saturday that the state police in March had emailed information to his chief deputy, Kathleen Burns, about the Simmons case, and her response to that email led state police to believe that the prosecutor’s office was not pursuing any criminal investigation.
However, Nash said he was not aware of the communication, and had he been aware of it he would have immediately asked for a special prosecutor.
Simmons has been an investigating officer in cases prosecuted in Bartholomew County and is acquainted with the Bartholomew County Prosecutor’s staff, which would require that a special prosecutor be appointed, Nash said.
Nash believes the miscommunication occurred because there are two cases involving Simmons, one being Simmons’ as the investigator in the case of the 14-year-old who had been previously been molested, and now the allegations contained in the Finding and Order that led to Simmons’ termination from the state police.
Nash emphasized that the case involving the previous molestation of the 14-year-old did not involve Simmons or any police officer as a suspect.
Because of the misunderstanding, Nash has decided to seek the appointment of a special prosecutor. He said the misunderstanding that caused the miscommunication is not the fault of Burns or the state police, and will be remedied by the naming of the special prosecutor.
Case against officer
The prosecutor 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.
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 cellphone in the pocket of his shorts, and that the phone made contact and pressed the pin code in to do a factory 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.
Simmons was assigned to work out of the Indiana State Police Versailles district, which includes Bartholomew, Decatur and Jackson counties, among others. When reached by phone on Thursday, Simmons said he had no comment.
Simmons, a Columbus native and a 2001 Columbus North High School graduate, was promoted by the state police to the rank of sergeant in July 2015, to serve as a cybercrimes forensic examiner.
Simmons was initially assigned to the Seymour District from 2007 to 2010. With the closing of the Seymour post, Simmons was transferred to the Versailles District where he patrolled from 2010 to 2014. From 2014 to 2015, Simmons was assigned to the Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force.
In his duties in cybercrimes, Simmons assisted federal, state and local law enforcement by conducting forensic examinations of computers, cell phones and other digital media for evidence of criminal activity in the Versailles and Sellersburg state police districts. Simmons was known as the go-to officer in Bartholomew County when a criminal case required analysis of cell phone data, Nash said.
