August 28, 2024 - LOS ANGELES – A federal jury today found a former Army private based at Fort Irwin guilty of producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting a 14-year-old girl, using Snapchat to receive CSAM of her when she was 13 years old, and possessing CSAM featuring her on his iPhone. In addition, White was found guilty of receiving CSAM of a 15-year-old girl via Snapchat.

Parker William White, 23, of Johnsonville, New York, was found guilty of one count of production of child pornography, three counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. 

According to evidence presented during a five-day trial, in January 2022, the Department of Children and Families in Bay County, Florida received a tip that White was engaging in an online, sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl.  Later, investigators found CSAM of her on White’s iPhone as well as CSAM that White had received via Snapchat featuring her and another minor.

White used Instagram, Snapchat, and other social media platforms to find minor “girlfriends” as young as 13 years old, according to court documents.  White groomed these minor girls by boasting about his military service, telling them that they were “beautiful” and “queens,” and pretending to be in love with them.  In some instances, White deceptively portrayed himself as teenager to earn their trust.  White’s behavior would then escalate to a practice that he called “teasing.”  He would send these children sexually explicit videos and photographs of himself via social media and encourage them to “tease” him back by doing the same.   

United States District Judge André Birotte Jr. scheduled a February 7, 2025 sentencing hearing, at which time White will face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a statutory maximum sentence of 100 years in federal prison.

White has been in custody since his arrest.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case.

Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndsi C. Allsop of the Violent and Organized Crime Section and Laura A. Alexander of the Environmental Crimes and Consumer Protection Section are prosecuting this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: DOJ Release