Jury Convicts Newark Man of Receiving, Possessing Child Pornography

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A United States District Court jury convicted Shawn P. Parrish, 38, of Newark, Ohio, of receiving and possessing child pornography. Parrish had been previously convicted of an offense involving aggravated sexual abuse, sexual abuse or abusive sexual contact of a minor.

Benjamin C. Glassman, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Steve Francis, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien and other members of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the verdict reached today, which was returned following a trial that began on April 17 before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley.

According to court documents and testimony, investigation of a peer-to-peer file-sharing network led investigators to Parrish’s residence when they discovered child pornography being uploaded to an IP address there. While executing a search warrant at his Newark residence on August 30, investigators found numerous images of a 12-year-old girl on Parrish’s phone.

Forensic evidence obtained from Parrish’s phone and the victim’s phone indicates that Parrish sent himself videos of the victim displaying her nude pubic area and that he received those videos via Facebook Messenger and thereafter created still images on his phone from the videos.

Parrish had previously been convicted in North Carolina in 1998 for Indecent Liberties with a Child and had been sentenced to 16-20 months in prison.

Receipt of child pornography in this case is punishable by a range of 15 to 40 years in prison because of Parrish’s prior conviction. Likewise, because of the prior conviction, possession of child pornography in this case includes a potential sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Glassman commended the investigation of this case by the Franklin County ICAC Task Force, as well as Assistant United States Attorneys Heather A. Hill and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer M. Rausch, Director of the Franklin County Special Victims Unit, who are prosecuting the case.

The Franklin County ICAC Task Force is a multi-agency effort dedicated to the fight against computer-facilitated crimes against children. The following agencies are members:

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