Coach Parmeter sentenced
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Former Eastern Arizona basketball coach Timothy Martin Parmeter, 39, was sentenced Thursday by Gila County Superior Court Judge Peter Cahill to spend at least six months in jail. Parmeter previously pleaded guilty to an amended charge of conspiracy to commit sexual conduct with a minor – a class 6 felony.
Parmeter was arrested and booked into the Graham County Jail on April 11 after the Graham County Attorney’s office charged him with one count of sexual conduct with a minor.
The charge stemmed from an alleged two-year relationship with an EAC student that began when she was 16. The victim told police she and Parmeter had numerous sexual relations at various places, including his Quail Ridge home and school office. She said she was intimate with Parmeter the evening before he found the body of his estranged wife, Paula, and 2-year-old son, Ryan, in their garage. Paula and Ryan died from carbon monoxide poisoning in what police labeled as a homicide/suicide.
Parmeter received national attention after his story was posted on a CBS Sports Web site Jan. 9. The story chronicled the dissolution of Parmeter’s marriage to Paula and the murder-suicide she initiated with their son, Ryan.
The case was heard in front of Cahill after Graham County Superior Court Judge R. Douglas Holt declared a conflict.
Parmeter spoke on his own behalf and apologized to those who have been affected by his decision to have an affair with a juvenile. He said, however, that his crime did not influence his wife’s decision to kill his son and herself.
“While I fully admit and take complete responsibility for the actions that bring us here today, they in no way had anything to do with the death of my wife and my son,” he said.
Parmeter asked the judge for leniency and to be placed on probation with no jail time. He said he was rebuilding his life with a new job and rekindled relationship with an adult woman who has a 3-year-old boy Parmeter calls his son. He said he will be returning to school beginning in January to work on a master’s degree in business administration.
Cahill told Parmeter he took advantage of his victim’s vulnerability and abused her more than twice a week for more than a year.
“It would be wrong for you not to go to jail,” Cahill said.
He said he was impressed with the change Parmeter has made, however, and the steps he is taking to move on and not commit a similar crime again.
Cahill then sentenced Parmeter to spend six months in jail and to be placed on probation for three years upon his release. Certain sex offender terms were added as conditions of his probation, but he will not have to register as a sex offender. He was also given credit for four days’ time served.
Cahill deferred an additional six months in jail until after a review hearing set for Oct. 23, 2009, at 3 p.m. He said if Parmeter did well in jail and on probation, he would waive most, if not all, of his remaining jail sentence.
Parmeter will serve his sentence in Maricopa County Jail and is eligible for work release so he can keep his new job. He will transfer his probation to Pinal County, where he resides with his girlfriend and her son. Cahill ordered Parmeter to report to jail no later than Jan. 11 at 5 a.m.
Parmeter must also pay full economic restitution to the victim, and that includes reimbursement for all counseling and therapy costs related to his offense. Cahill gave the prosecution and victim six months to finalize the particular terms of the restitution. The victim has been reportedly seeing a counselor at least once a month.
