Three of Simmons family sentenced in abuse case

SHARON — Three members of the Simmons family of Sharon Valley were sentenced in Litchfield Superior Court on Feb. 19 following a court case in which two young women accused their relatives of sexual abuse. Two were taken from court to jail; one is serving probation.

Donald Simmons Sr., 72, and his sons, Donald Simmons Jr., 51, and Robert Simmons, 50, were arrested in July 2007 after an accusation by a then-grown woman that she had been sexually molested for years by her grandfather, father and uncle.

The three men were arrested again, in January 2008, when the woman’s teenage sister came forward with the same allegations. Their brother, Donald Simmons III, then 19, was also arrested in January 2008, accused of molesting his sisters.

Donald Simmons Sr. and Donald Simmons Jr. originally pleaded not guilty to sexual assault and risk of injury charges. Simmons Jr. pleaded not guilty to a charge of tampering with a witness. Robert Simmons filed a plea of not guilty.

Donald Simmons III was already in jail at the time, serving a four-year term for the sexual assault of a 5-year-old boy. He pleaded guilty and will now serve concurrent terms.

Last December, Robert Simmons changed his plea to guilty and Simmons Jr. pleaded guilty to the tampering charge. The cases moved from pre-trial to the sentencing stage.

Donald Simmons Sr. was sentenced to a 10-year prison term, suspended after two years, with a 9-month minimum, followed by a 10-year probationary period. He will be considered for parole in November of this year. He is currently incarcerated at the New Haven Correctional Institute.

Donald Simmons Jr. was sentenced to an 11-year term, suspended after three years, with a 9-month minimum and 10 years of probation. He will also be up for parole in November. He was sent to the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institute in Suffield.

Robert Simmons received a 10-year suspended sentence. He is on a 10-year probationary period.

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