Man gets probation for child pornography

A 53-year-old Gardnerville machinist who had more than 300 sexually explicit images of children as young as 12 months old was sentenced Monday to five years probation and ordered to spend 10 days in Douglas County Jail.

District Judge Michael Gibbons suspended a three-year sentence against John Michael Parks on a charge of possession of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of a person under 16.

Gibbons said he believed Parks would have better supervision on probation and be less of a threat to the community. Parks received a psychosexual evaluation that he was not likely to re-offend.

Gibbons imposed a host of conditions for Parks' probation including no Internet or computer access, no drugs or alcohol, continued counseling, and no contact with anyone under age 18 unless in the pre-approved presence of an adult.

Originally, Parks was charged with two counts of lewdness with a child under age 14 and three counts of visual presentation depicting sexual conduct of persons under age 16.

Conviction could have meant life in prison.

At the time of his arrest, Parks was accused of inappropriately touching a girl from January 2006 until Feb. 15, 2007 when the child was 4.

The lewdness charge was dropped, prompting Gibbons to ask why.

"If you want somebody to go to prison, you should have included the offense against the child," he said.

Deputy District Attorney Tom Gregory said the child was unreliable as a witness, and prosecutors felt there would be a better chance for a conviction on the pornography charge.

Gregory said the 4-year-old was examined by a physician who found no physical injuries. He also said he had trouble contacting the little girl's family.

Parks' attorney, Ron Cauley, said his client had never been in trouble.

"You have a 53-year-old man who has never been in trouble before, never arrested, never even been in court. He admitted what he did. He realizes he has a problem, that there is something in the nature of his makeup that causes inappropriate desires," Cauley said.

He said Parks had exemplary behavior while on house arrest for 10 months, paying all his expenses for his lawyer, counseling and court-ordered evaluations.

He said Parks had suffered abuse as an adolescent but that did not excuse his actions.

"It's part of understanding why he is where he is," Cauley said.

Cauley said the child's mother said she and the girl were doing fine.

"There's no damage, no hard feelings toward Michael (Parks). We asked her (the mother) to testify, but she has some fear Child and Family Protective Services would hold it against her if she sides with Michael," Cauley said. "She's just been frightened away from giving input."

Gibbons said Parks could not have any contact with the child nor initiate contact with the mother.

Cauley said the woman had sent several text messages to Parks since his arrest Nov. 10.

"You've already identified the problem," Gibbons said. "Somebody apparently had to tell her to stay away from him."

Parks apologized.

"I recognize I have a problem," he said. "I have already sought therapy and treatment. I expect to be a patient of therapy for the rest of my life. I apologize to the victims, the court, law enforcement and the community. I feel I am able to fully comply with all the recommendations of the court. This statement is 100 percent from my heart. Nobody told me what to write. This past 10 months has taught me, given me the spirit to change my life and get my mind right."

Gibbons said he believed Parks was genuinely remorseful. He said the best way to judge his remorse was to look at his behavior over the past 10 months.

Gibbons said he remained skeptical about Parks' future conduct, but the defendant had shown what it takes to change.

He said he was reassured by Dr. Joseph McEllistrem's evaluation that Parks was unlikely to reoffend.

"All factors would be outweighed by the proof of having a child victim here," Gibbons said. "You would be on your way to prison. There is no room for a slip-up."

Gibbons said he would determine if Parks needed lifetime supervision after further study.

He said he was ready to give Parks a lengthy jail sentence until he realized he defendant had been on house arrest for 10 months.

He ordered Parks to work 100 hours of community service and to serve 10 days in jail within the next 60 days.

"In my mind, there has to be some other punishment. I want you to be further motivated against some other offense," Gibbons said.