by Hunter Dawkins, Owner/Publisher – editor@thegazebogazette.com or hdawkins@supertalk.fm
GULFPORT (GG) — On Monday, September 21, Theodore Joseph Parks of Brevard, North Carolina pled guilty to two counts of Sexual Battery of a child before Circuit Judge Lisa Dodson at the Harrison County Courthouse in Gulfport, Mississippi. Parks was sentenced to two consecutive Life sentences to serve in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections. Due to the nature of the charges, Parks is not eligible for parole.
“The investigation began in January 2025 when the juvenile victim, now age 15, first reported to her mother multiple incidents of sexual abuse over a period of years by the Defendant, a then 35-year-old relative. The mother subsequently contacted the Gulfport Police Department who scheduled a forensic interview of the child at Canopy Children Solutions,” said Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Chris Daniel, who prosecuted the case.
Based on the interview, detectives learned that repeated sexual incidents occurred in Gulfport when the victim was 8 – 10 years old. Detectives also learned that the Defendant committed other sexual assaults with the same victim in Indiana.
“In the forensic interview, the victim disclosed that, at the time of the assaults, the Defendant was under the influence of marijuana and alcohol, and that the acts usually occurred when the victim was playing video games with the Defendant or when the victim was trying to sleep. The victim also stated the Defendant would try to prevent her from disclosing these acts by offering candy as a bribe, and as the victim became a teenager, the Defendant would constantly apologize for the abuse. Special Agents from the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations interviewed the Defendant, who was living in North Carolina at the time. During that interview, the Defendant corroborated most of the facts provided by the victim, and ultimately, provided a confession to some of the criminal acts disclosed by the victim.” said ADA Daniel.
During sentencing, the victim spoke and stated, “I know that this is exactly what you feared most. I know you were afraid I would grow up and realize what you did to me was wrong, and that one day I would have the courage to tell someone. Today, I am doing exactly that. You have had a profound impact on my life, but not in a positive way. What you did changed the way I see the world. It changed the way I see men, trust, safety, family, and even things that should have been innocent. Even after the abuse ended, the fear did not end with it. The trauma stayed with me. I am still growing. I am still learning. I am still healing. And I am still becoming the person I was always meant to be.”
Prior to handing down the consecutive life sentences, Judge Dodson stated, “This child didn’t deserve anything you did to her. You set no example for her, and she will live with it forever. It will impact her marriage, if she eventually marries. It will impact how she treats her children, and you’re responsible for that. Hopefully, it will impact her in a good way, because she will see to it that they are safe from predators like you. You sir, are the lowest of the low.”
“The betrayal of a child by someone she trusted is hard to comprehend, and no child should ever have to endure this kind of abuse. This young lady showed tremendous courage in coming forward and then standing in court, facing her abuser, and telling him directly how his actions have affected her life. The two consecutive life sentences imposed by the Court reflect the seriousness of these crimes and the repeated abuse this child suffered. No sentence can undo what happened to her, but today the defendant was held accountable. We hope she leaves this process knowing that she was heard, that she was believed, and that her courage made a difference,” said District Attorney W. Crosby Parker.
