How O.J. Simpson has tried to protect his children while in prison

USA TODAY

Arnelle Simpson, right, O.J. Simpson's daughter, and Shirley Baker, Simpson's sister, chat during a court appearance in 2007.

CARSON CITY, Nev. — During O.J. Simpson’s 2013 parole hearing, none of his four children attended — and the former football star indicated he was pleased.

He lamented having missed the college graduations of his two youngest children, Sydney and Justin. He voiced sadness over having missed their birthdays.

But he also made it clear none of them were to attend the hearing, where was granted parole for some of the criminal counts from a Las Vegas armed robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers for which Simpson was convicted in 2008.

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“Understand that I have worked diligently to keep my kids out of the media over the years to the point today where most people wouldn’t recognize my kids other than my oldest daughter,“ Simpson told the Nevada parole board members in 2013. “And even though they all wanted to come here, I was told a lot of media was going to be around, so I asked them to write a letter."

As instructed, Simpson’s oldest daughter, Arnelle, wrote a letter on behalf of three other siblings. This time there will be more than a letter.

Arnelle Simpson will be in the room with her father during Thursday's parole hearing, according to O.J. Simpson’s longtime friend Tom Scotto. Simpson, who has been in prison for nearly nine years, is expected to be granted parole and eligible for release starting on Oct. 1.

While the other three children are not expected to be in Lovelock, Scotto said they’ve maintained close contact with Simpson.

One reason Simpson wants to return to Florida if he is freed, Scotto said, is because it’s home to Simpson’s two younger children – Sydney and Justin, whose mother, Nicole Brown Simpson, was Simpson’s ex-wife when she was found murdered in 1994.

Jeffrey Felix, a former correctional officer at Lovelock, said Simpson once told him he planned to live with Sydney Simpson if he was released early from prison.

The Los Angeles Times also reported Sydney Simpson graduated from Boston University in 2010 with a degree in sociology and, as of 2016, Justin Simpson, 28, was a real estate agent for Coldwell Banker.

Jason Simpson, 47, has pursued a culinary career and in recent years worked as a chef at Atlanta restaurant St. Cecilia, according to the Los Angeles Times. And Arnelle Simpson, 47, has remained the most visible.

She testified during Simpson’s 2008 trial for the robbery and got involved in efforts to keep the family of Ron Goldman — murdered in 1994 along with Nicole Brown Simpson — from taking the proceeds from Simpson’s book entitled, If I Did It.