Fugitive Wanted for Crimes Against Children in Santa Barbara County Arrested in Guatemala, Returned to U.S.

A fugitive wanted by Santa Barbara County authorities and the FBI for approximately 18 years was returned to the United States on Saturday, announced Timothy Delaney, Acting Assistant Director of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office.

Jeffrey Reed Parish, 65, who was wanted for multiple state violations, was taken into custody by police in Guatemala who were acting on information developed by investigators assigned to the case.

Parish was charged by the Santa Barbara District Attorney in 1994 with lewd and lascivious acts with a child; oral copulation with a child; and failure to appear, based on an investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

Parish had been scheduled for trial in Santa Barbara Municipal Court on March 31, 1994. An arrest warrant was issued by the court when Parish failed to appear for his scheduled trial. When it had been established that Parish had fled the jurisdiction of California, the FBI initiated a federal fugitive investigation, and Parish was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution (UFAP). A federal warrant for his arrest was issued by the United States District Court, Central District of California, in June 1994.

Investigators in the U.S. recently developed information that led them to Guatemala. The FBI’s Legal Attaché in San Salvador was contacted and, in collaboration with the Transnational Anti-Gang unit of the Guatemalan National Police, apprehended Parish in a Guatemalan City on Friday. Parish was using a false name.

The successful capture of Parish is based on an investigation by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office; the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office; the FBI’s Legal Attaché in San Salvador; and the Transnational Anti-Gang (TAG) unit of the Guatemalan National Police.

After being deported by Guatemalan authorities, Parish was escorted to the United States on Saturday by a special agent with the FBI and a detective with the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office. Parish is being held in custody in Santa Barbara County.

It is anticipated that the United States government will dismiss the federal UFAP charge and that Parish will be prosecuted by the District Attorney in Santa Barbara County.

The FBI continues to work with local law enforcement to apprehend violent criminals charged with state crimes who then flee the jurisdiction interstate or internationally. Photos and descriptions of many fugitives wanted by the FBI can be found at www.fbi.gov.