Parra pleaded guilty to count 3 of his indictment, which was a violation of Title 18, U.S. Code, Section 1462, which makes it illegal to receive over the Internet "obscene, lewd and lascivious matter." The government dropped the portion of his charge that involved child pornography.

A government lawyer said that the evidence of child pornography consisted only of one image, and Parra's lawyer, Gall Pissestzky, said if the matter had gone to trial Parra would have disputed the evidence. He strongly denied any involvement in child porn in the courtroom and in statements made after to the press.

Of more import to the public, Parra also pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to deprive residents of El Paso County of the "honest services" of public officials, who received bribes for votes.

It was clear the two were connected, and the lesser charges in the pornography case were a result of Parra's willingness to testify.

Documents that typically would be released as part of the plea agreements, called the "factual basis," were sealed by District Judge Frank Montalvo at the government's request. Those documents would have revealed the testimony -- specifically, the names of people involved in the public corruption case, and the assertions being made against them -- that Parra agreed to in exchange for the plea agreement.

Parra's bond was set at $45,000. His family left the U.S. Courthouse a little before 1 p.m. and he left separately, through a back entrance, shortly after.

The U.S. Attorney released this statement:

"By pleading guilty to obscenity, Parra admitted that for a year beginning in September 2005, he knowingly received, via a computer obscene images.

"Parra was also charged today by an one count Information and thereafter pled guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud and the Depravation of the Right to Honest Services. In pleading guilty to those charges, Parra admitted that he deprived the County of El Paso of the right to the honest services of elected officials.

"He further admitted to conspiring to devise a scheme to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses in an effort to sway the votes of elected members of the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court and to engaging in the conspiracy with an elected County official. Those officials agreed to accept cash, trips and payment of debts, in exchange for their support and vote in their official capacity as members of the El Paso County Commissioner’s Court and as an elected County official, in violation of their fiduciary duty."

The government has not identified the members of the court, and the El Paso Times has quoted each of them as denying they were involved.

In May, 2007, the FBI searched three offices, those of County Judge Anthony Cobos, and commissioners Luis Sarinana and Miguel Teran.

For background:

-- Parra Indicted; Bond Granted, Then Appealed, Feb. 6, 2008: The decision quickly was appealed by the government, and late Wednesday it was unclear when the appeal would be heard. Meanwhile, as the hearing took place, the U.S. Attorney's office sent out a news release announcing that Parra had been indicted on the child pornography charges for which he was arrested.

-- Parra to change plea in child porn case, June 23, 2008: A federal grand jury indicted Parra in early February on child pornography charges, which investigators said came up in the course of the public corruption inquiry. Parra initially pleaded not guilty to the pornography charges, but a change of plea date has been set.

-- Public Corruption 101, May 12, 2008: Get up to date on the FBI public corruption investigation, with a summary of events and links to source documents. Also included are archives and links to public corruption cases from around the country for perspective.

Related Documents: