The lawyer for 17-year-old Trey Simms of Manassas City, Virginia is claiming that police are wanting to photograph her client in an aroused state as part of their investigation in a sexting case that finds the young man facing two child pornography related charges.
According to NBC4, Simms was charged with manufacturing and distributing child pornography in January, while exchanging texts with his then-girlfriend, who was 15-years-old at the time.
Simms’ attorney, Jessica Harbeson Foster, says the case began when the girlfriend texted Simms photos of herself (reports do not clarify the nature of these images) and he responded by sending the video that ended up with his arrest after the mother of the girlfriend contacted police.
After obtaining a warrant police arrested Simms, seized his iPhone and iPad and took him to juvenile jail where Foster and his aunt Stacy Bigley say police took photos of his genitalia to see if the images matched the texted video in question.
Bigley said, “He said they took him to a room and took pictures of his genitalia. I asked if they’re allowed to do that, and [Trey] said, ‘I tried to refuse,’” which he did, he didn’t want to do it. They told him if he did not they would do it by force.”
The case got a trial date for July 1 and Foster claims that Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Claiborne Richardson informed her that her client should plead guilty or they would obtain a new warrant “for pictures of his erect penis.” When Foster asked how they would accomplish this she said she was told “we just take him down to the hospital, give him a shot and then take the pictures that we need.”
Simms refused to plead guilty and a subsequent new warrant was issued by the judge. The two sides met in court and a request by Simms to be able to visit family out of state was granted, even though the prosecution wanted the warrant executed before he left, which he admittedly wanted in part to postpone this new potential threat of being photographed in that way.
Foster also wonders why the young girl in the case has never been charged with any crimes. “From what I gather, there’s no intention to charge and this was handled inefficiently,” Foster said.
Simms appointed guardian ad litem, Carlos Flores Laboy, didn’t mince words when he expressed his opinion of all of this:
“They’re using a statute that was designed to protect children from being exploited in a sexual manner to take a picture of this young man in a sexually explicit manner. The irony is incredible. As a parent myself, I was floored. It’s child abuse. We’re wasting thousands of dollars and resources and man hours on a sexting case. That’s what we’re doing.”
If found guilty Simms, described by his attorney as a kid who goes to school everyday, plays football and has never been in trouble with the law, could be jailed until he turns 21 and be listed as a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.
Manassas City Police spokeswoman Adrienne Helms said the department would not comment, and Detective David E. Abbott, the lead investigator on the case, did not return a call seeking comment to the Washington Post.
