JonBenét Ramsey photographer jailed on child porn charges in Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. (KVAL) -- The photographer who sold a portfolio of images from a photo shoot with 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey after her 1996 death is behind bars in Oregon, facing more than a dozen counts of encouraging child sex abuse.
Police arrested Randall D. Simons, 67, in July on accusations he was "regularly accessing images of child pornography on the public wireless network of a local restaurant," police in Oakridge, Ore., said.
The incidents happened between August 2018 and June 2019, according to court filings in the case.
Simons has remained behind bars since his arrest.
He appeared in court on Monday for a pre-trial conference. He is due back in court for a similar hearing in December ahead of a Jan. 8, 2020, trial date.
Simons was hired in June 1996 by the Ramsey family of Boulder, Colorado, to photograph JonBenét, according to news reports from the late 1990s and sources in Colorado.
The girl was found dead in her family's home on Dec. 26 of that year.
In January 1997, Simons sold a portfolio of glamour photos of JonBenét, according to archive reports from The Associated Press related to Simons' later arrest in Colorado on charges of indecent exposure.
According to the article:
He hoped the worldwide exposure would lead to the capture of JonBenét's killer, but acknowledged that controversy over the pictures could jeopardize his career.
The pictures were taken during a June 1996 photo shoot. They showed the 6-year-old beauty queen in makeup and curls and generated criticism of children's pageants.
"My career is done. I'll probably never work again," he said then.
