Simpson Terminated After Pleading Guilty

USA Professor Barry Simpson has been terminated after pleading guilty on June 18 to one count of sending obscene material to a minor, according to Keith Ayers, director of USA Public Relations.

Simpson was suspended with pay after being arrested on Nov. 17, 2008, on charges that he sent obscene pictures to a minor. He initially pleaded not guilty.

Simpson had been an assistant professor of economics since 2003.

Simpson was charged with two counts of "knowingly attempting to transfer obscene matter to another individual who had not attained the age of 16 years," one for an alleged transfer on Oct. 20, 2008, and the other for Oct. 27. The Oct. 27 count was dismissed in the plea agreement.

The count could carry a maximum of 10 years' imprisonment followed by "supervised release" of up to three years, according to the plea agreement. The prosecution agreed, though, "to recommend the Defendant be sentenced at the low end of the guideline range."

The sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 28.

The charges came after Simpson allegedly sent pictures of an erect penis to an undercover FBI agent posing as a 13-year-old girl. The prosecution alleges that Simpson participated in the conversations from his work computer in the Mitchell College of Business.

Simpson is being charged in Miami, Fla., because the undercover agent was based there.

Court documents filed by the prosecution also charge that Simpson's work computer contained "105 images depicting child pornography."

Simpson is currently out of jail on bond. He is confined to his home with the exception of "medical, employment or court-related matters," according to a June 18 court order.