According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Office, deputies were contacted on Thursday by Kentucky State Police in reference to allegations of inappropriate contact and communications between a minor and the McCracken County High School fishing coach, 56-year-old John Parks.
Detectives say they reviewed electronic communications between Parks and the minor and completed an oral interview with the victim. A meeting with the McCracken County Commonwealth Attorney's Office was held to discuss the details of the investigation.
At the conclusion of the meeting the decision
was made to arrest Parks and charge him with first degree sexual
abuse. A search warrant was prepared and signed by a district judge
authorizing detectives to search Parks' vehicle and home, and to
recover any and all electronic devices located as a result of the
searches.
Parks was taken into custody Thursday night at an
address on Court Avenue in Paducah. Upon reviewing a portion of some
of the items seized pursuant to the search warrant, detectives
identified inappropriate images that were believed to be of a second
minor.
Detectives identified the individual and confirmed they were a minor
at the time the images were obtained. It was also determined that the
individual was unaware Parks was in possession of the images.
Parks
was lodged in the McCracken County Regional Jail on charges of 1st
degree sexual abuse and possession of child pornography. Deputies say the
investigation is ongoing and multiple electronic and storage devices
will be analyzed as a part of this investigation.