Child predator jailed

Thanks to the persistence of an East Montgomery County mom, and the determination of members of the Montgomery County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office, a child predator with multiple known victims is behind bars. Not only have they saved the children he was pursuing and victimizing through social media, his young daughter’s 2008 outcry of sexual abuse has been reexamined resulting in an indictment.

An in-depth multi-agency investigation led by Montgomery County Precinct 4 Capt. Mark Seals and Sgt. Art Looza produced damning evidence sent to preteen girls he befriended through Facebook, including not only messages that were sexual in nature, but also webcam video of 49-year-old Duane Charles Parker of Lafayette Louisiana masturbating while discussing what he would like to do to his victims.

Precinct 4 Constable Kenneth “Rowdy” Hayden, who at one point had five men working on the investigation, said Parker was every parent’s nightmare.

“He’s the person you warn your kids about, and the reason we have to teach our children not to talk to strangers in person or online, even if they seem nice.” Constable Hayden said. “At almost 50 years old, Mr. Parker managed to befriend well over a dozen little girls without their parents’ knowledge with the intention of using them for his own twisted sexual gratification.”

So far, Duane Parker (a.k.a. Parker Duane, a.k.a. Johnny Pepper), is charged with 2 counts of second-degree felony Online Solicitation of a Minor Under 14 (Montgomery County); and 1 count of first-degree felony Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child (Galveston County). Parker’s bond is set at $300,000 ($100,000 for each charge).

His request for a bond reduction on the first two charges was denied in a Montgomery County court last Thursday. The same day, a Galveston County grand jury returned an indictment on the third and most serious charge, which was the result of a CPS investigation launched after Parker’s then 6-year-old daughter claimed he was sexually abusing her. That complaint was filed in 2008 by the child’s then 24-year-old mother. Records indicate the girl was born when the mother was 17 and Parker was 39.

The couple split up but Parker retained parental rights to the now 10-year-old girl, who was with him at the time of his August 13 arrest. That child’s mother has a 6-year-old daughter by a different father and the 6-year-old was also with Parker when he was arrested. The mother lives in Kingwood, but the girls had been with Parker in Lafayette. His business, “            1-800-CRAWFISH      ” or “Crawfish Unlimited” involves frequent trips between south Louisiana and southeast Texas.

Capt. Seals and Sgt. Looza believe there may be many more victims who have not come forward or who never knew Parker’s true identity.

Parker lived in Texas in 2008 when his daughter’s mother contacted Child Protective Services. He was convicted of Indecent Exposure in Galveston in 2010 after exposing his penis to a 17-year-old Starbucks employee as he sat in his vehicle at a drive-thru window. It is unclear exactly when Parker moved to Lafayette because he kept his Texas Driver’s License, which has the address of what is now a parking lot and was once a UPS store where he rented a mailbox.

“Every address connected with Duane Charles Parker was bogus,” Capt. Seals said.

The East Montgomery County mom who first alerted authorities, and whose identity is withheld to protect her family’s privacy, began noticing comments by an unfamiliar name on her daughter’s Facebook page. The person posting as “Parker Duane” was using a photo of a sports car as a profile picture, and listed no date of birth. The mom said her daughter, who turned 12 this year, accepted Parker’s friendship because they had several mutual friends, and all of them were schoolmates. It is unknown how Parker found and first connected with the circle of female friends (17 at last count), all of whom are now in the seventh grade. At first, the girl and her mother assumed with so many mutual friends, some of them must have known “Parker Duane” personally.

Parker began clicking “like” on the girl’s Facebook posts and when they frequently posted photos of themselves, as young girls do, Parker posted comments like “beautiful,” “I’m in love” and “XOX” using hearts and other flirtatious words and symbols typically used by preteens on one another’s pages. He also sent instant and private messages that became progressively inappropriate and the mom took control of her daughter’s account. Parker quickly confirmed the mother’s suspicions when he sent her daughter a lengthy private message that began, “hey Beautiful, omg ur so Beautiful ur a dream ur someone id love to be mine…” The message continued with Parker rambling, at one point writing, “I know I may scar(e) u but im safe loving and could only love you…” He also discussed wishing he were in her room lying on her bed, with her on top of him. The message was followed by a video that showed the trunk section of an adult male (now known to be Parker) in bikini underwear, exposing his genitals and masturbating.

Around the same time, the mother of another 12-year-old girl in the group contacted the reportee mom, saying “Parker Duane” was also sending sexual messages and pornographic video to her daughter and she had proof he was a grown man. Signed onto her daughter’s Facebook account, that mother searched through his page history and finally found a shirtless photo he posted of himself, sitting on a black leather sofa and making a peace sign. Comparing the photo to Parker when he was arrested, it appears to be around 20 years old, which would still make him around 30 when the photo was taken.

The reportee mom contacted law enforcement, but “Parker Duane’s” account was deleted.

Capt. Seals said his agency contacted the Harris County Precinct 4 Constable’s Office Internet Crimes Against Children, or ICAC division because they had a lot of experience with child predators who used the internet.

All involved believed the unidentified predator had become paranoid and would probably move on to another group, using a different name. They were partially right. It was not long before Parker returned to Facebook using the name “Johnny Pepper,” and contacting the girls in the same ways as before. This time, however, law enforcement was on the receiving end of his messages and videos. They obtained permission from the mothers of both girls to take control of their Facebook accounts and continued communicating with Parker as though they were the girls.

Investigators were able to identify and ultimately apprehend Parker through his business on August 13 at a restaurant on I-45 in Webster where he arrived to deliver an order. Child Protective Services took custody of Parker’s daughter and her half-sister upon his arrest and both were interviewed. As of now, Parker has not been charged in connection with the younger girl.

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