Gene Simmons’ home searched in child abuse probe; not a suspect

TIMES OF ISRAEL – A Los Angeles police task force investigating Internet crimes against children served a search warrant at the home of the Israeli-American KISS rocker Gene Simmons, but neither Simmons nor anyone in his family is suspected in the case.

Lt. John Jenal says the warrant was served Thursday at the Simmons home in Benedict Canyon near Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

Jenal says the detectives involved want to emphasize that Simmons and his family were “extremely cooperative” and none of them are suspected of a crime.

Police would give no further comment on the investigation, but the detectives carrying out the search were said to be from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Program, law enforcement specialists that look into the victimization of children over the internet.

According to CNN, the rocker’s publicist said the police search of the family home was connected with a crime that may have occurred on the property last year while Simmons was away touring with his band.

The rockers wife took to social media to thank fans for their support.

“We couldn’t be more horrified that someone used our residence for such heinous crimes. Law enforcement is on it.” Shannon Tweed Simmons tweeted on Thursday evening.

Citing an ongoing investigation, Tweed Simmons did not provide any details on the alleged crime.

Simmons, who plays bass and sings lead vocals in the legendary band since the early 1970s, was born Chaim Witz in Haifa and emigrated to New York City with his mother, a Holocaust survivor from Hungary, at the age of eight. His father, who subsequently remarried, stayed in Israel