A 19-year-old New Jersey man, who was employed as a costumed character at Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, and other venues, has been arrested and charged with sending sexually-explicit messages and photos to a preteen girl, police said.
According to a Sept. 17, 2024, statement from the office of Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa Hilton, Don-Diego Parkman, 19, of Hamilton, has been arrested and charged with aggravated sexual assault, manufacturing and possession of child sexual abuse material, endangering the welfare of a child and other charges after an investigation that began earlier this month.
In the statement, Hilton's office claims they were contacted by law enforcement officials in Missouri after a preteen girl there was, allegedly, found to have been chatting and exchanging child sexual abuse materials at the direction of Parkman.
"An investigation was initiated and detectives discovered that, in addition to exchanging sexually-explicit messages and photos with the preteen girl, Parkman was directing her to take photos and videos of herself engaging in sexual conduct to send to him," claims a statement from Hilton's office.
A search was conducted at Parkman's Mercer County home last week, where, officials said, Parkman was taken into custody and "detectives seized multiple items of evidentiary value."
Officials said that during the course of this investigation law enforcement officials learned that Parkman has been employed as a costumed character and mascot by several companies including Six Flags Great Adventure, Somerset Baseball Partners, Devils Arena Entertainment, and most recently, Sesame Place in Bucks County.
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Hilton's office has filed a motion in order to detain Parkman as he awaits trial.
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NBC10 is attempting to get comments from the venues where Parkman worked.
A representative with Six Flags Great Adventure told NBC10 that they would not comment on an ongoing investigation, but they said Parkman had been hired by the company.
"We can confirm this person was hired after passing a criminal background check but never actually worked," the representative said in a statement to NBC10.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson with the Devils Center told NBC10 that Parkman will not be returning as an employee.
"Don Diego Parkman worked for the team for approximately six months last season in a part time role, and hasn’t worked here since April. He will not be returning this season," Pete Albietz, senior Vice President of Communications and Team Ops with the Devils & Prudential Center, said in a statement.
Also, on Wednesday, representative from Sesame Place told NBC10 that Parkman's arrest was not related to his work there and that he had been fired.
"Parkman is no longer employed by Sesame Place. His arrest is not related to Sesame Place, and any questions should be directed to the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office," a park representative said in a statement.
Hilton is asking anyone with information about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children to contact the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit at (609) 989-6568 or the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force tip line at (888) 648-6007.
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