THREE SUSPECTS IN WICOMICO COUNTY CHARGED WITH SEXUALLY ABUSING A MINOR

Salisbury, MD - Jessie Lee Scott, Major Leslie Purnell Sr., and Alonzo Leon Parker Jr. - have all been charged with various sexual offenses following a Grand Jury Indictment in Wicomico County, Maryland. The charges came following a thorough investigation by the Wicomico County Child Advocacy Center that began in November 2023.

The investigation revealed that Jessie Lee Scott and Major Leslie Purnell Sr. sexually abused a minor child years ago. As a result of the investigation, they were both charged with a wide range of crimes, including first- and second-degree rape, sexual abuse of a minor, multiple sexual offenses, sexual solicitation of a minor, indecent exposure, and assault. 

Alonzo Leon Parker Jr also came under investigation when an additional victim of sexual abuse came forward and identified Parker Jr as the alleged offender. 

As a result, he was arrested on April 4, 2024, and formally charged with custodial child abuse, multiple counts of sexual offenses of the 3^rd and 4^th degree, multiple counts of second-degree assault, perverted practice, and sodomy.

Scott and Purnell were ordered to be held at the Wicomico County Detention Center without bond. Parker Jr. was initially held on a $25,000 bond, as ordered by a District Court Judge, but has since posted the bond and has been released.

The investigation also revealed that all three defendants had affiliations with the "New Dimension Family Ministries" on Jersey Road in Salisbury, Maryland. Having served in various capacities at the ministry, the trio routinely had access to minor children.

Anyone with information about this investigation or other potential crimes is asked to contact the Wicomico County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigative Division at 410-548-4898.

All defendants named in this report are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.