SALYERSVILLE – A Magoffin County man pleaded not guilty in court on Monday on charges related to child sexual abuse material.
On March 11, Kent Simpkins, 42, of Salyersville, pleaded not guilty to the following charges: three counts of possession matter portraying a minor under the age of 12 in a sexual performance, one count of distribution of matter portraying a minor under the age of 12; two counts of possessing matter portraying a minor over the age of 12 but under the age of 18 in a sexual performance; and one count of sexual crimes against an animal.
Simpkins is out of police custody after posting a $5,000 cash bail, with a pretrial hearing set for March 25 at 9 a.m.
According to the original arrest citation, during an online undercover Kentucky State Police Internet Crimes Against Children investigation, police learned that someone had uploaded a video of a minor in a sexual performance. From that investigation, KSP obtained a search warrant for Simpkins and his home.
According a press release from KSP, the KSP Electronic Crime Branch began the investigation after discovering the suspect uploading sexually explicit images of juveniles to an online social media account.
KSP executed the search warrant for Simpkins and his residence on February 13. During the interview, he reportedly admitted to operating the account and seeing the material of underage minors that were being shared from other users, according to the arrest citation.
KSP reported in the press release that equipment used to facilitate the alleged crimes was seized and taken to KSP’s forensic laboratory for examination and the investigation is still ongoing.
During the investigation, police also found a video of Simpkins dog engaged in a sexual act with the subject, which he also reportedly admitted to, according to the police report.
Editor’s Note: The indictment or charge of a person by a grand jury or otherwise is an accusation only and that person is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
