Suspended Akron police officer sentenced in child sex abuse material case
On Tuesday, Geoffrey Parker, 34, of Mineral Ridge, a suspended Akron police officer and convicted sex received an indefinite, consecutive prison sentence from 24 to 28 years, according to a Trumbull County Prosecutor press release.
On October 31, Parker pleaded guilty in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to 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 and one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
The release stated that Judge Ronald J. Rice ordered consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public and declared him a Tier 2 sexual offender, where after release from prison, Parker will have to register with a local sheriff’s office twice per year for the next 25 years.
“I am deeply disturbed that you went from a police officer to criminal convict in one cause. You ruined your family and tarnished your reputation just to fulfill a perverted sexual desire,” Rice told Parker before sentencing.
The case started after the Ohio BCI traced a nude photo of a 4-year-old girl that was sent in August to an online chatroom app, back to the defendant. Parker, who was placed on administrative leave by the Akron Police Department after his arrest, was also convicted of taking nude images of himself with young children, according to the release.
The release stated the defendant’s wife asked for leniency, believing the defendant could be “cured” through probation and therapy. Parker said he was driven to these acts because stress from family and work obligations.
Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman, who heads the office’s Child Pornography/Cyber Abuse Division, stated these acts were no mistake, and Parker is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” who preyed on young children and betrayed his badge and uniform.
Parker had faced a maximum 61 to 65 years in prison.