WEST TORRINGTON, Conn. – The office of the Litchfield Judicial District State’s Attorney said that a woman from New Milford who was accused of sexual crimes against a child was given a 50-year prison sentence on Friday.
41-year-old Sara Anne Simonelli, who was also known as Sara Byxbee, was given a 50-year sentence. She will not be put to death until she has served 20 years of her sentence and done 20 years of probation.
She had to also sign up with the Connecticut Sex Offender Registry.
Simonelli admitted in June to four counts of putting a child to work in an obscene performance, two counts of supporting a child in an obscene performance, one count of first-degree sexual assault with a victim younger than 13 years old, and one count of being sexually close to a minor while they were at risk of being hurt.
Michael J. Almeida, 29, of New Milford, was also charged with the crime and was given a 30-year jail sentence in May. He will not be put to death until he has served 18 years of his sentence and will then be on probation for 20 years.
Almeida also needs to sign up with the sex offender list.
The sentence came after a CyberTip from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force led to a search order and the seizure of several of Almeida’s devices. They had more than 400 different files with child pornography on them, according to the police.
Police also found photos and videos on Almeida’s cell phone that showed Simonelli sexually attacking a child.
Text messages between the co-defendants showed that they both talked about the tapes and said they wanted to sexually assault the victim more.
The office of the Litchfield Judicial District State’s Attorney says that the co-defendants were dating at the time of the crime.
Source: New Milford woman sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexual offenses against minor
