Simmons said Parra was arrested Thursday on three charges related to child pornography. The charges are receipt and distribution, possession, and interstate transportation of obscene materials, she said.
Parra, 31, was arrested in El Paso last night, Simmons said, though she stated she did not know where he was arrested or whether any materials were seized.
Simmons said it was a "probable cause" arrest, and authorities must indict Parra within 30 days.
She said Federal Judge Norbert Garney might sign the arrest warrant at the initial appearance of Parra before the judge.
At the hearing Parra, shackled and wearing a blue jumpsuit with orange slippers, sat with about two dozen other defendants in the tight hearing room. Most of the defendants were being held on immigration or drug charges.
Parra stood and faced the judge when it came his turn to hear the charges against him. The first, receiving "unlawful pornography" over the Internet, which brings a minimum 5-year and maximum 20-year sentence, and up to a $250,000 fine; the other two charges brought $250,000 fines and up to 10 year and three years, respectively.
When Garney asked if Parra understood his rights, Parra nodded with his head lowered and slightly to the side.
Garney set Parra's bond hearing for Thursday Feb. 6.
Parra's lawyer, Doris Sipes, declined comment.
NPT media partners KFOX TV are working on the story and will have more details tonight at 9 p.m.
Parra is listed as a project coordinator with the special education staff of the El Paso Independent School District on the district's Web site.
"Fernando Parra is currently on leave of absence from the District. Mr. Parra’s most recent employment duties with the District were in technology support; they did not include any contact with individual students. Mr. Parra has worked for EPISD for approximately 1½ years.
Before joining EPISD, Mr. Parra worked for the County of El Paso," said EPISD spokesman Luis Villalobos in a prepared statement issued by the district.
"The safety and well-being of our students is our number one priority. We understand that the American criminal justice system is established to ensure that individuals accused of a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty. With that being understood, these are extremely serious charges and we are going to focus on the safety of our students. Therefore, Mr. Parra will remain on leave of absence pending an administrative review of the criminal charges pending against him."
Parra, who worked in the office of District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez, was identified as one of the unindicted co-conspirators in the guilty plea of former County Judge Anthony Cobos' Chief of Staff Travis Ketner. In the plea, Ketner described a system of rigging the computers in the district clerk's office that assign cases to various courts.
In an interview with NPT published in June, Sanchez did not confirm or deny that the identity of the person alleged to be John CC1 is Luther Jones, a former county judge and former county attorney, though it is widely speculated it may be him. Sanchez did, however, confirm that Jones helped him in his campaign along with several other attorneys, though he said Jones simply served as an advisor.
Jones has declined to comment.
In the story published June 14, Sanchez also acknowledged that Fernando Parra was “one of many” employees in his office that helped with computer and technical matters, but he did not say whether Parra was the person listed in Ketner’s plea as John CC4.
The plea alleges that John CC4 was responsible for maintaining the computer system at the District Clerk’s Office. It also states that he devised a method to manipulate the random selection of a court and judge for the filing of a particular case, done at the direction of John CC1.
John CC4 is described as “a close personal friend of John CC1, who resided in an apartment owned by John CC1.” The description also states that John CC4 was a former employee of John CC3 (Sanchez).
Parra also is considered a top voter analyst, and in the past was in demand as a consultant for political campaigns associated with Jones.
His specialty was breaking down lists of prospective voters for candidates, so the candidate doesn't waste their time and money sending mailers to, or knocking on doors of, disinterested or hostile voters.
In November and December, he was a finalist for the Information Technology director job at the Housing Authority of the city of El Paso. [npt background]
