Poplar Bluff man sentenced to 30 years for exploiting minor with disability

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. - A city man was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for felony sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Missouri at Cape Girardeau, Jason R. Hicks-Simpson, 46, who listed 518 W. Victor St., Poplar Bluff, as an address, was found guilty in U.S. Dist. Court of one count of the crime, per a plea agreement.

U.S. Dist. Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Friday sentenced Hicks-Simpson, who recorded his rape of a minor with an intellectual disability.

In March 2024, the 17-year-old victim’s mother contacted the Poplar Bluff Police Department about Hicks-Simpson.

The victim told investigators that Hicks-Simpson had been sexually abusing her since she was five, his plea agreement states.

She also said Hicks-Simpson threatened to kill her and her kittens if she did not keep the secret.

Hicks-Simpson told police that it had only happened once several months earlier, according to the release.

Investigators found videos dating back to May of 2023 on his phone, the plea agreement indicates.

He originally was charged with Felony Possession Of Child Pornography - Second Subsequent Offense Or Possession of Greater Than 20 Pictures/One Film/Videotape; Felony First-Degree Rape Or Attempted Rape; and Felony First-Degree Sodomy Or Attempted Sodomy/Aggravated Sexual Offense, court records state.

Hicks-Simpson is subject to lifetime supervision upon release, according to court records.

Hicks-Simpson will be transferred to state court to face charges there, court documents indicate.

A case review is slated for 1 p.m. Monday, Feb.10, before 36th Judicial District Court Associate Judge C. Wade Pierce at the Butler County Courthouse, court records indicate.