Jenks Man Pleads Guilty After Groping a Girl in a Store and Later Following Another Girl and Burglarizing her Home

A man who restrained and groped a girl at a Dollar General store where he worked and who followed another girl home from a school bus stop then burglarized her family’s home pleaded guilty today in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

William Mark Parnell, 21, pleaded guilty to Attempted Abusive Sexual Contact with a Minor in Indian Country and Second Degree Burglary in Indian Country.

On June 1, 2021, Parnell admitted that he was working at a Dollar General in Glenpool when he saw a minor female walk inside. He followed the girl down an aisle then grabbed her from behind, placing one hand over her mouth and another hand down her pants. He told the minor to be quiet and move. He stated that when he tried to turn the girl to face him, she was able to escape. He admitted that he intended to engage in sexual contact with the victim. 

On May 16, 2022, Parnell followed a different girl from a bus stop and broke into her family’s home in Tulsa. The child fled to a neighbor’s house just prior to Parnell’s entry. Parnell admitted that while inside, he stole a firearm. Shortly after, Parnell discarded the stolen firearm in a pond to conceal it from law enforcement.

Parnell was later identified and arrested, and the firearm was recovered from the pond in a joint effort by Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police and Tulsa Police.

The FBI, Tulsa Police Department, Glenpool Police Department, and the Muscogee Nation Lighthorse Tribal Police Department are the investigative agencies. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam C. Bailey and Stacey P. Todd are prosecuting the case.