An Oregon pastor faces federal charges in Denver for producing and distributing child pornography on the internet.
James Parkhurst, 56, was indicted Aug. 23 by a federal grand jury in Colorado and appeared in U.S. District Court in Denver yesterday. At least one of Parkhurst's victims lives in Colorado, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice.
Due to victim privacy rules, the Department of Justice can't say how many children Parkhurst is accused of violating, Dorschner said. He also declined to say if the victim or victims were Colorado residents at the time the illegal pornography was produced.
According to the indictment, Parkhurst produced images of child pornography in August 2010 and then transported those images on the internet.
Parkhurst was the executive director of the Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church's Camp and Retreat Ministry program. He was put on leave after he was arrested Aug. 2, according to The Oregonian.
