A police officer with the Akron Police Department is booked in the Trumbull County Jail after allegedly taking and uploading a nude picture of a four-year-old girl in Weathersfield Township.

Niles Law Director Phil Zuzolo tells 21 News 34-year-old Geoffrey Parker, who has served on the Akron Police Department for four years, is charged with pandering obscenity involving a minor and illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material.

Zuzolo tells 21 News Parker took a nude photo of a four-year-old girl in Weathersfield Township and sent it to an online chatroom app known as Kik. 

Zuzolo says the day after the picture was taken, it had been sent to the Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI) who was able to trace it back to Parker. Two days later, Parker was arrested at the Akron Police Department.

Parker was booked into the Trumbull County Jail on Wednesday where he is being held on a $1 million bond. If he is bailed out, he will not be allowed to return home since he has children and is ordered to have no contact with any children.

In the meantime, Parker is due back in the Niles Municipal Court on Monday, August 26 for a preliminary hearing. 

Akron Police Chief Brian Harding released the following statement on the situation:

“I am sickened to learn of these charges against one of our employees. I thank the Bureau of Criminal Investigation for handling this case and trust that the judicial and legal process will reveal the truth. Anyone engaging in this behavior should be held accountable for their actions to the fullest extent possible by law.
I’m confident that justice will be served.”

Parker has been placed on paid administrative leave pending an indictment per department policy.