A 32-year-old DuPage County sheriff’s deputy has been fired after being accused of possessing and disseminating child abuse material, officials said Wednesday.
Steven M. Simmons, of Lisle, appeared in court Wednesday, charged with multiple crimes regarding child sexual abuse material, according to a statement from the DuPage County sheriff’s office, which said the office learned Monday that the Illinois attorney general’s office was investigating Simmons.
At the end of the court hearing, Simmons’ employment with the sheriff’s office was terminated, the statement said.
On Tuesday, Investigators and police officers from the Lisle Police Department searched Simmons’ home in the 5500 block of Lakeside Drive in Lisle, and he was taken into custody after evidence of child sexual abuse material was found, according to officials.
“This case is part of Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s ongoing work in collaboration with federal law enforcement agencies and local law enforcement officials throughout Illinois to apprehend offenders who download and trade child sexual abuse images online,” a statement from Raoul’s office said.
The crimes Simmons is accused of are each punishable by up to 15 years in prison, Raoul’s statement said.
Simmons is due back in court on June 15.