WARREN, Ohio — A former Akron police officer will spend the next two-plus decades behind bars after pleading guilty to multiple child pornography charges in Trumbull County.
Judge Ronald Rice on Tuesday sentenced Geoffrey Parker, 34, to between 24 and 28 years in prison. Parker admitted to eight felony counts last week:
- Three counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor
- Three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material
- One count of gross sexual imposition
- One count of pandering obscenity involving a minor
Parker, who had faced up to 65 years in prison for his crimes, officially resigned from the Akron Police Department after accepting the plea deal. Due to his convictions, the Mineral Ridge native is no longer eligible to serve as a police officer anywhere in Ohio.
CASE HISTORY
Prosecutors say the case started in August of this year after the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation traced a nude photo of a 4-year-old girl in Weathersfield that was sent to an online chatroom app linked to Parker, who was also convicted of taking nude images of himself with young children.
According to Akron police, Parker was arrested on Aug. 16 at around 9 p.m. by members of the Ohio BCI and taken to the Summit County Jail. Parker, a four-year member of the Akron Police Department, was "immediately placed on administrative leave with pay, per departmental procedure and according to the union contract, pending a criminal indictment," according to officials.
"I am sickened to learn of these charges against one of our employees. I thank the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for handling this case and trust that the judicial and legal process will reveal the truth," Akron Police Chief Brian Harding said in a statement following Parker's arrest. "Anyone engaging in this behavior should be held accountable for their actions to the fullest extent possible by law. I'm confident that justice will be served."
On Oct. 2, Parker was indicted by a Trumbull County grand jury on 11 charges:
- Three counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material
- Two counts of gross sexual imposition
- Four counts of pandering sexually-oriented matter involving a minor
- One count of pandering obscenity involving a minor
According to 3News media partner Signal Akron, citing an Akron police spokesperson, Parker was put on unpaid leave per the department's collective bargaining agreement and policy after his indictment. This preceded his eventual resignation.
Parker's trial had been slated to start on Nov. 12. As part of the plea deal with prosecutors, three of the charges against him were dropped.
