Minneapolis Man Charged and Detained for Allegedly Committing Sexual Acts Against a Child

MINNEAPOLIS—Last week in federal court, a Minneapolis man was ordered detained for committing aggravated sexual abuse against a child under the age of 12. On September 1, 2011, in St. Paul, United States Magistrate Judge Steven E. Rau ruled that Joseph Valerian Parshall, age 30, be detained throughout the prosecution of the criminal case filed against him.

Parshall was arrested on August 31, 2011, in Minneapolis by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fugitive Task Force. The arrest was made pursuant to a federal criminal complaint, which was filed on August 29, 2011. It charges Parshall with one count of aggravated sexual abuse against a child under the age of 12, adding that the acts occurred between February 1 and July 27, 2011. According to a law enforcement affidavit filed in the case, on July 27 the Red Lake Tribal Police Department was informed of the sexual abuse of the child.

If convicted, Parshall faces a potential maximum penalty of life in prison, with a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years. All sentences will be determined by a federal district court judge. This case is the result of an investigation by the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, Tribal Children and Family Services, and the FBI. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Clifford B. Wardlaw.

Because the Red Lake Indian Reservation is a federal jurisdiction reservation, some of the crimes that occur there are investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Red Lake Tribal Police Department. Those cases are prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.