ASHLAND — An Ashland man pleaded not guilty Thursday to five alleged sex crimes against minors.
Iann Christopher Simmons, 34, is charged with two counts of gross sexual imposition, two counts of grooming and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
He was arraigned in the in the Ashland County Common Pleas Court.
Simmons’ attorney James Mayer III addressed the bond, which was set at $100,000 on Nov. 12 by Magistrate Paul Lange.
Mayer said if Simmons posted bond, he would live in Ashland with his mother with no other persons in the home and is already seeking employment options.
Ashland County Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Metcalf asked for the bond to be increased to $500,000. He said Simmons is a registered sex offender who previously violated probation on separate charges in Richland County by possessing child pornography.
Metcalf also said bond should be higher because the current charges occurred while Simmons was on supervised release from Lorain Correctional Institution when the incidents occurred, between Jan. 1 and May 25, 2025, authorities said.
Lange said he would make a bond decision later.
In May 2016, Simmons was sentenced in Richland County Common Pleas Court to four years of probation after pleading guilty to 11 counts of pandering sexual matter involving minors.
After multiple probation violations, he received a five-year prison term from Richland County Common Pleas Judge James DeWeese in March 2018.
The current charges come as a result of an investigation by Loudonville Police which began in May of this year.
The alleged victims were 11 and 12 years old, according to a press release from the Loudonville Police Department.
Lange scheduled a jury trial on Feb. 10 at 8:30 a.m.
