A marine patrol officer with the Garland County sheriff’s office was arrested Thursday on a federal warrant regarding the hiring of a prostitute, the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas announced Friday.
Garland County sheriff’s Deputy Neil Parliment, 39, remained at the Union County jail in El Dorado on Friday, awaiting pickup by U.S. marshals. He has been suspended without pay from the sheriff ’s office, a news release from that agency said.
According to a news release from U.S. Attorney Conner Eldridge’s office, Parliment is accused of arranging for a Memphis prostitute to travel to Hot Springs from January to June in a sex-for money exchange.
“Over the course of the investigation, it was discovered that Parliment had not only engaged the services of the prostitute himself but also facilitated meetings and introductions between the prostitute and others for sexual activity,” the news release said.
Parliment was arrested as part of the Denied Innocence Task Force’s investigation, headed by FBI Special Agent in Charge Randall Coleman.
“The charge against the officer in this case - involving enticing a person across state lines for prostitution - is a serious one that our task force is committed to aggressively investigating,” Coleman said in the news release.
If convicted of the charge of enticing an individual to engage in prostitution, Parliment could face up to 20 years in jail.
The task force was established Jan. 1 as a partnership involving the FBI, the Arkansas State Police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and several city police departments, among others.
Its goal is primarily to investigate sex crimes against children. But FBI supervisory agent Kimberly Brunell wouldn’t say whether the prostitute involved was a child.
“When you investigate crimes against children, from time to time you’ll find adult victims and adults involved in the cases,” she said.
Brunell said the task force often investigates interstate prostitution as well as interstate exchange of child pornography.
“I can’t say that it’s unusual, because we’re looking for traveling suspects,” she said.
Eldridge agreed that charges of interstate prostitution are “not uncommon.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Roberts is prosecuting the case for the United States. Assistant Public Defender James Pierce is representing Parliment, who was arraigned Thursday. No court documents were available Friday, and a court representative said the documents likely wouldn’t be available until Monday.
Pierce was out of the office Friday and wasn’t reached for comment.
Parliment has been suspended without pay, Lt. James “Corky” Martin of the Garland County sheriff’s office said in a news release.
Earlier this year, Parliment faced charges in Montgomery County after he was arrested in the December theft of a hunter’s tree stand and two wildlife cameras, according to the clerk’s office.
Parliment pleaded no contest in February to Arkansas Game and Fish violations that included hunting on land without the landowner’s permission. The misdemeanor theft charge was dropped, and the trespassing charges were reduced in the plea agreement, according to the clerk’s office.
At that time, Parliment was placed on leave from the Garland County sheriff’s office, and he paid a $1,040 fine.
Eldridge wouldn’t talk specifics regarding Parliment’s case, but he said the charges are the exception rather than the rule for Arkansas law enforcement.
“The vast majority are good, honest, hardworking folks,” he said.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 06/15/2013