Level 3 Sex Offender Charged in Kidnapping Held Without Bail

RAYNHAM, MA — A Brockton man charged with assaulting and kidnapping a woman in Brockton was ordered held without bail.

Nathaniel Simmons, 49, was ordered by a Taunton District Court judge to be held over the weekend. He is scheduled to have a dangerousness hearing Monday, according to the Taunton Gazette.

Simmons faces charges of kidnapping, assault and battery, assault, assault and battery by means of a dangerous weapon, failure to stop for police, and negligent operation. Last Wednesday, police responded to several calls for a disturbance at Walmart on Route 138. Witnesses told police that a man, identified as Simmons, assaulted a woman in the parking lot and fled in a Ford Taurus. When police found the vehicle on King Philip Street, Simmons allegedly refused to stop and sped away. Simmons crashed his car on Route 104 after rear-ending a vehicle stopped at a stop sign.

The victim told police she didn't know Simmons and he approached her while she was standing in front of a convenience store near the Brockton Police Department. She told police that she asked Simmons for spare change and he offered $50 to smoke crack cocaine with him and let him watch her touch herself. Simmons then allegedly put a fur-lined leather hat over her and went to an apartment before returning to the car. The victim said Simmons threatened and assaulted her during the day, and was scared that he would shoot her if she tried to run away. While in the Walmart parking lot, the victim yelled for help and when witnesses responded, Simmons drove away.

Simmons, a Level 3 sex offender, has faced rape charges in the past. In 1996, he was convicted of rape and in 1999, he was convicted of two counts of rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a person 14 or older.

Image via Raynham Police Department