Carmine Simpson, ex-NYPD officer from Holbrook, sentenced to 23 years in prison for luring teens into sending him sexually explicit photos, videos
The Alfonse M. D'Amato U.S District Courthouse in Central Islip. Credit: Newsday/John Paraskevas
A former NYPD officer from Holbrook was sentenced Friday to 23 years in prison for luring teens into sending him sexually explicit videos online.
Carmine Simpson, 30, pleaded guilty in March 2023 to one count of sexually exploiting a minor after communicating with at least 46 children on X, formerly Twitter, where federal prosecutors said he altered his profile photo to appear to be a 17-year-old.
Simpson was charged with talking to the teens online and urging them to take photos and videos, while working as a police officer. He would also chat on FaceTime and encouraged his victims to hurt themselves, federal prosecutors said. The victims ranged in age between 13 and 17, prosecutors said.
Simpson was a police officer in Brooklyn starting in 2018, prior to his arrest in 2021. He resigned from the department in March 2022, prosecutors said.
"The defendant’s repeated sexual solicitation and exploitation of minors is reprehensible," said Joseph Nocella, interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York. "That he was a law enforcement officer at the time he committed these crimes makes his conduct even more horrific."
Simpson’s federal defender could not be reached for comment.
Authorities said Simpson had multiple X accounts. They discovered his grooming of victims in December 2020, after the mother of a 13-year-old transgender male found messages from Simpson asking for nude photos and told the boy to write words on his body, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said Simpson convinced various teens on X to send a total of 18 pornographic photos and 33 videos of child sexual abuse material. Prosecutors said Simpson had requested victims beat or choke themselves.
Simpson was prosecuted under the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood to identify victims of child exploitation and prosecute internet child sex crimes.
"Carmine Simpson betrayed his badge by preying upon minors for twisted sexual gratification. Simpson repeatedly prowled online for minor victims before coercing them to provide sexually explicit and degrading content," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia said in a statement.
The Eastern District court in Central Islip recommended Simpson serve his sentence at a federal medical facility in Massachusetts, according to court records. He was also ordered to serve 5 years of supervised release.
John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.
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