An Oakridge man has been indicted by a secret Lane County grand jury on charges related to a yearlong child pornography investigation that landed the man in jail earlier this month.

Randall DeWitt Simons, 66, was taken into custody July 2 by Springfield police, who had been assisting Oakridge police in investigating a July 2018 report from A&W that someone had been using the restaurant's WiFi to download inappropriate and concerning images.

The Lane County secret grand jury indictment alleges 15 counts of second-degree encouraging child sex abuse. Simons was arraigned Thursday and entered not guilty pleas to all of the charges. He is due back in court Aug. 7 for a pre-trial conference.

According to a search warrant affidavit filed in Lane County Circuit Court this month, police tracked a computer's identification address from the restaurant's WiFi system after authorities had been notified of the illegal activity. The tracking led police to a man who lived near the restaurant. After an investigation, and the service of a search warrant, police learned that man had given away his old computers that still had his identification information on them. The man provided the name of one man who he had given a computer to, who lived nearby.

In following those leads, Oakridge and Springfield police began investigating Simons in June, and using a special software program, were able to see Simons' computer log in to the A&W WiFi in real time. A device showed police where the signal was coming from, and led to Simons' home, the affidavit states.

A search warrant was filed June 27 to search Simons' residence. There, police collected four laptops, three camcorders, two bags of writable optical discs, and six cameras.

At the time of Simons' arrest, Oakridge police said Simons described himself as a children's photographer. Oakridge police asked parents of children that may have been left unattended with Simons to contact Oakridge police at 541-782-4232 or the Lane County Sheriff’s Office at 541-682-4150.

According to a 1998 article circulated by The Associated Press, Simons had been a photographer for the 6-year-old Colorado beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey a few months before her still-unsolved 1996 murder. He later sold a portfolio of photos showing Ramsey in makeup and curls for $7,500, telling reporters his career was probably in jeopardy because of the controversy the sale created.

In October 1998, Simons was arrested on a charge of indecent exposure in Lincoln County, Colo. According to the book "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" by Lawrence Schiller, Simons was arrested in 1998 for allegedly walking nude down a residential street in the small town of Genoa, Colo. Simons allegedly offered to the arresting deputy unprovoked, "I didn't kill JonBenét."

According to the Associated Press article, Simons was held in the Lincoln County Jail in Colorado pending a psychiatric evaluation. The outcome of the case is unknown. A message to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office was not returned.

Follow Chelsea Deffenbacher on Twitter @ChelseaDeffenB. Email chelsea.deffenbacher@registerguard.com.