Child Molester Gets 12 Years

A former sixth-grade teacher was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for sexually molesting four boys while they were alone with him in his classroom or at his West Los Angeles apartment.

Richard Howard Simons, 33, was arrested in July, 1984, after the owner of a camera store in Brentwood reported that the teacher had brought in film for development showing an 11-year-old boy in sexually explicit poses. Simons, who originally was charged with 11 felony counts, pleaded guilty to five counts on Jan. 13. He had taught for five years at the Rowan Elementary School on the city’s Eastside.