News and Press Releases
Federal jury convicts Minneapolis man for committing sexual abuse against a child
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in Fergus Falls, a federal jury found a 31-year-old
Minneapolis man guilty of committing aggravated sexual abuse against a child. Following a
two-day trial, the jury convicted Joseph Valerian Parshall on two counts of aggravated sexual
abuse against a child under the age of 12. Parshall was indicted on September 21, 2011.
According to the indictment and evidence presented at trial, Parshall committed two sexual
acts against the child between February 1 and July 27, 2011. A law enforcement affidavit filed
in the case states that on July 27, the Red Lake Tribal Police Department was informed of the
abuse. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fugitive Task Force arrested Parshall on August
31, 2011, in Minneapolis.
For his crimes, Parshall faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison on each count,
with a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years. United States District Court Judge John R.
Tunheim will determine his sentence at a future hearing. This case is the result of an
investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by
Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.
Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal-jurisdiction reservation, some of the
crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal
Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
