Former Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy Pleads Guilty to Prostitution Offense

TEXARKANNA, AR—Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced that former Garland County Sheriff’s Deputy Neil Parliament, 39, pleaded guilty in federal court to a one-count information for arranging for a minor to travel to Hot Springs, Arkansas, to engage in prostitution. At the time of the offense, Parliment was a marine patrol officer with the Garland County Sheriff’s Office. The Honorable Susan O. Hickey accepted the plea in United States District Court in Texarkana.

United States Attorney Eldridge commented, “Mr. Parliament abused his position of public trust to engage in illegal activities involving prostitution. This activity is unacceptable, and we will continue to bring to justice those individuals who seek to use similar positions to perpetrate crimes.”

According to court documents, in early February 2013, the Little Rock Police Department was contacted by a minor female who admitted to police that she had been engaging in prostitution. The individual resided in Memphis, Tennessee, and admitted to traveling into Arkansas to meet clients. She told officers that one client, Mr. Parliament, was a police officer in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and showed officers numerous text messages regarding her traveling to Hot Springs to engage in prostitution. She further admitted to officers that she first made contact with Parliament in January 2013. At that time, Parliament made arrangements for her to travel from Memphis to Hot Springs, including arranging for her to stay in a local hotel room. When she arrived in Hot Springs, she and Parliament engaged in sexual activity in the hotel room in exchange for payment. Parliament then arranged for her to meet with other individuals, with whom she also engaged in sexual activity in exchange for payment.

Parliament was originally arrested on a federal warrant on June 13, 2013. At sentencing, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record (if any), the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violations. The sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases it will be less than the maximum. In this case, Parliament faces the maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

This case was investigated by the FBI Denied Innocence Task Force and the Little Rock Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Dustin Roberts is prosecuting the case for the United States.