A Las Vegas man was sentenced to 33 years in prison and a subsequent lifetime supervised release for child sexual exploitation crimes.
According to a report by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, Stephen Thomas Parshall, 38, pled guilty in October to two counts of sexual exploitation of children, a count of coercion and enticement, and a count of receipt and distribution of child pornography.
Parshall, also known as Kiwi, will need to register as a sex offender. He was sentenced March 13 by U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey.
“As part of our Project Safe Childhood initiative, together with law enforcement partners, we will use all available resources to identify, apprehend, and prosecute predators who exploit children,” said U.S. Attorney Jason Frierson. “Thanks to the hard work by the prosecution team and law enforcement, the defendant is no longer a threat to children and the community.”
Court documents showed that Parshall was arrested for his involvement in the “Boogaloo” movement, which included his participation in a conspiracy to cause destruction during protests on May 30, 2020.
He was arrested and search warrants were issued for his electronic devices. Through the search, 10 images of child sexual abuse were found on his cell phone. The victim was identified as being under 18 in two child sexual abuse images. The court documents stated Parshall forced the victim to perform sex acts on him.
On a second cell phone, investigators found social media conversations under names like “cptkiwi1”, “nopictoobad” and “pervysage.” Parshall messaged a second victim, who was under 18, and convinced the child to take sexually explicit pictures and send them to him. Parshall also reportedly traded child pornography material with other users.
“The FBI is committed to stopping and holding accountable anyone who engages in the sexual exploitation of children,” said FBI special agent in charge Spencer Evans. “Every time child pornography is viewed on the Internet it re-victimizes a child. Together with our partners, we are dedicated to investigating and bringing federal charges against those who commit these heinous crimes.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bianca Pucci and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Portz prosecuted the case.
