Former Defense Employee Sentenced for Child Pornography
An Alexandria, Virginia man was sentenced to nine years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography. Edward Thomas Parsons, a 64-year-old former physical security specialist with the Department of Defense, pleaded guilty on September 12, 2018, before Senior U.S. District Judge Claude M. Hilton of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Parsons and his co-defendant, Bradley Robert Segert, administered an online group chat on Kik Messenger, a mobile messaging application, dedicated to soliciting child pornography from other Kik users. Between January 2015 and August 2015, Parsons received and distributed images and videos of child pornography from this Kik group chat. In addition, through the course of its investigation, law enforcement seized Parsons’s personal desktop computer and cell phone and found hundreds of images and videos of child pornography on the devices.
The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is investigating the case. The Task Force is comprised of agents of the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and detectives from the Prince William County Police, Fairfax County Police, Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Police, Alexandria City Police, Arlington County Police, Leesburg Police, Virginia State Police, and the Offices of Inspector General of several federal agencies. Trial Attorneys James E. Burke IV and William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Parsons’s case is a stark reminder of the dangers of online child exploitation. The Grimy Times urges all citizens to be vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
Mandatory Facts: Defendant – Edward Thomas Parsons, Crime – Receipt of Child Pornography, City and State – Alexandria, Virginia, Date – September 12, 2018, Sentence – Nine years in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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