A longtime employee of the U.S. Justice Department has been arrested and charged with federal crimes related to child pornography. Timothy Parsons, a legal staffer in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., was investigated after receiving explicit material in 2019. The case emerged from a separate probe into another individual accused of child exploitation.
Timothy Parsons, who works as a legal staffer at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., has been charged with federal offenses in Maryland, his state of residence. According to court documents, an FBI task force searched his home in Bethesda on Monday, seizing several electronic devices. Parsons lives alone in the residence and was present during the search. An initial review of the devices found no child abuse material, though a full forensic examination is ongoing.
The investigation stems from Parsons' receipt of child sex abuse material in February 2019. An FBI affidavit states that he received multiple videos and two images from another person. Parsons reportedly admitted to investigators that he had deleted the messages but also responded to the material with comments including "That is so hot."
This case was uncovered during a 2025 federal investigation into Victor Blythe, a former child psychotherapist at Children's National Medical Center in Washington. Court filings indicate that the sender of the material to Parsons matches details from Blythe's case, in which he faces child exploitation charges and has pleaded not guilty, with a court date set for March 25.
The Justice Department placed Parsons on leave following his arrest. A spokesperson stated, "The employee is on leave and appropriate disciplinary action will be taken in accordance with standard procedure. While we cannot comment on personnel matters, we hold all of our employees to the highest standards of ethical conduct at all times."
Parsons has not yet entered a plea and is scheduled to appear in court on Friday in Greenbelt, Maryland. He has been appointed a federal public defender, whose office did not immediately comment. Efforts to reach Parsons directly were unsuccessful.
