WARREN, Ohio – A former Akron police officer was sentenced Tuesday to 24 to 28 years in prison for making and distributing child pornography.
Geoffrey Parker, 34, of Mineral Ridge appeared before Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Ronald Rice on eight charges involving the exploitation of children. He pleaded guilty to the allegations last month.
Parker must register as a sex offender once he is released from prison. He must meet every six months for 25 years with authorities in the county he lives in.
Kadie Parker asked Rice to sentence her husband to probation only, as he is in therapy, remorseful and unlikely to reoffend, she said.
Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Gabriel Wildman called her request for probation “ridiculous.”
“He’s a liar. He’s a pervert. He’s a pedophile. And now he’s a prisoner,” Wildman told reporters after the hearing.
The victims in the case were both young. One was 5, while the other was a toddler. As such, prosecutors sought a sentence of 37 to 41 years, court documents show.
“When you’re talking about kids that young, the penalties have to be greater,” Wildman said.
Though Rice’s sentence is for fewer years than prosecutors sought, Wildman said he was pleased Parker will spend decades behind bars.
Parker’s attorney, Joshua Weemhoff, said his client “accepts full responsibility” and is aware of how horrible his crimes are.
“People can be complex,” Weemhoff said. “He is.”
After Parker sent child pornography to a stranger on the internet, he recalled thinking, “I realized I turned into the type of person I once hated,” Parker said, reading from prepared remarks.
Rice seemed skeptical of Parker’s explanation that his involvement in the chatrooms and creation of child pornography was in part because he was “stressed” and had been raped as a child.
Wildman was more blunt.
“He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing who hid behind a badge,” the prosecutor said.
Parker worked for Akron police for four years after graduating from the academy in 2020. It was his only law enforcement job – one he took after spending 12 years in the National Guard. He resigned from it a day before entering his guilty plea, records show.
On Oct. 31, Parker pleaded guilty to three charges of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material; three charges of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor; one count of gross sexual imposition; and one count of pandering obscenity involving a minor.
The investigation began with a tip to the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. From there, investigators discovered Parker had been creating child pornography and trading it in an online chatroom in exchange for others posting similar content.
Though Parker exchanged illegal videos with others on the internet, Wildman said investigators were unable to obtain enough evidence against the other people in the chatroom to make a referral to law enforcement.