El Paso County Judge Samuel Evig granted a request from a Fort Carson soldier’s attorney to waive his right to a preliminary hearing in court on Monday for 64 charges of child sex offenses he is facing.

Sgt. 1st Class Marquez Parker’s attorney, Joshua Lindley, told the judge that the 4th Judicial District Attorney’s Office was willing to talk about a plea deal with him if the hearing was waived.

The prosecution was set to call four law enforcement witnesses to the stand on Monday to establish probable cause for the 64 sex offenses against Parker, including 14 counts of sexually assaulting a child younger than 15 while in a position of trust and 28 counts of sexually exploiting a child younger than 12.

However, the empty courtroom gallery was notably without any witnesses, indicating that prosecutor Shelby Crow expected the request to be granted.

They would have been the first law enforcement officials to speak about Parker’s alleged crimes in El Paso County. All involved agencies have declined to discuss the case beyond court documents obtained by The Gazette.

Evig also granted Lindley’s request to set Parker’s arraignment to July 20 under the condition that there will not be another continuance. Crow did not object to the date because there is “quite a lot” of material still being released in discovery.

Without a plea deal by that date, Evig told the lawyers he would set the case for trial.

The waiving of his hearing comes after it was delayed twice due to the filing of new charges and no decision on whether the military would prosecute any of the charges instead of the 4th Judicial District, according to previous Gazette reporting. Still, Evig had expressed reluctance in granting a continuance on April 16, telling the lawyers, “The case has to move forward.”

In that hearing, Lindley and Crow told the judge that District Attorney Michael Allen and Fort Carson’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) had yet to meet to decide which agency would prosecute the charges against Parker, 39.

Unlike Monday’s hearing, Lindley seemed perplexed about whether talks with the District Attorney’s Office were ever going to take place by rhetorically asking, “Are we negotiating or are we not?”

Parker had already waived his right to a preliminary hearing within 35 days of being charged each time prosecutors filed additional charges in the months following his November arrest.

Court documents previously obtained by The Gazette show the sergeant 1st class has been under investigation for over a year, beginning with Fountain police linking him to an anonymous tip from a nationwide agency in early 2025.

A search warrant allegedly found 28,000 child sexual abuse materials, before the case was handed over to the CID, per the Fountain Police Department’s policy. CID later requested Colorado Springs police take over the investigation in its capacity as the lead agency in the Colorado Internet Crimes Against Children task force.

Further investigation led to the filing of new charges, including relating to the creation of sexual abuse material of a child younger than 12.

Barring another arrest, Parker will appear out of custody during his July hearing, as he did on Monday, after posting a bond in November and an increased bond amount on Christmas Eve.

Parker’s first assignment to Fort Carson was from 2017 to 2020, before returning in 2023, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. He planned to extend his time in the area and renewed a two-year lease in October.

Parker is assigned to the 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, a Fort Carson official previously told The Gazette. He works as a 91M Bradley Fighting Vehicle System maintainer.

The sergeant 1st class is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal and has earned 12 other military awards across his 15 years of service.