Parolee Sentenced for Multiple Incidents of Indecent Exposure

Defendant Joseph Michael Simmons, 39-years-old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced on November 19, 2020 by the Honorable Dana Simonds for multiple misdemeanor indecent exposure incidents committed while Simmons was on parole.    

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “This defendant was being supervised by state parole at the time of his offenses, which underscores the importance of offenders being monitored in the community. Although the law defines these crimes as misdemeanor offenses, there should be no mistake about the impact these acts have had on the victims.”   

Simmons and his acts of indecent exposure were publicized and discussed on social media, which led to people familiar with Simmons identifying him as the perpetrator of these crimes. The Santa Rosa Police Department’s investigation revealed Simmons had exposed himself and masturbated in front of multiple women in public, at different locations in Santa Rosa between March and May 2020. At the time of these offenses Simmons was on parole for crimes he committed in 2013 against two Santa Rosa police officers, which included causing one of the officers to suffer an orbital fracture.  

Based on Simmons’s current convictions for the misdemeanor offenses of indecent exposure, he received a 15-month sentence, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from custody. Although Simmons was on parole when he committed his most recent offenses, 2011 legislation resulted in parole violations now being served in a county jail for a maximum of 90 days as opposed to a parolee returning to state prison for a violation. In addition to parole supervision, Simmons will also be supervised by the Sonoma County Probation Department, and he will be required to participate in a sex offender treatment program.   

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Andrew Lukas. Detective Tim Raymond of the Santa Rosa Police Department headed the investigation.