tl;dr: James Parillo is a repeat offender who poses as a thruhiker on some US long trails, including the Desert section of the PCT. Stay away from him. If you're concerned, consider hiking in groups while in the Desert, but don't let it interfere with your hike.

First of all: The point of this post is not to fear monger. It's to share information so that hikers can keep themselves safe. With increased awareness, perhaps we can get Parillo off the trails once and for all.

James Parillo is known in the backpacking community for serial harassment of women on long trails in the US, particularly the Desert section of the PCT. The story of his mistreatment of Kira Moon on the PCT in 2018 is detailed extensively in the Backpacker article linked below.

There were many reports of him harassing young women along the Desert PCT last year, and he was spotted on the AZT and CDT in 2019.

He has used the trail name "Medic" and has falsely claimed to be a former Navy Seal. His aliases include the names Jay Cerilo, Jim Cerilo, Tony DeCompo.

The following Backpacker.com article explains the history in detail:

• Article
• Paywall bypass: Archive.is, or Wayback Machine.

Here's more information:

• A gallery of images so that you can recognize Parillo.

• A seven minute YouTube video from Carmen SanDiego (PCT Class of 2018) where she summarizes the situation.

• An Instagram he used to use, @hiking_for_hope. The woman in the sun hat in some of the later pictures is Kira Moon, the same woman from the Backpacker article linked above.

• Reportedly, this Unsolved Mysteries page for "Tony DeCompo" is about him under an alias he used to use.

• A post with extensive comments from April, 2021 on r/PacificCrestTrail, when he was spotted on the Desert section of the PCT. Thank you, u/skulkyzebra!

• Another post on r/PacificCrestTrail from March, 2021, with extensive comments. Thank you, u/PlasticLawnFlamingo!

• A YouTube video where Parillo tells lies in an interview. Watch in order to be able to identify his voice and recognize his mannerisms.

• A post from r/SoCalHiking warning hikers about Parillo.

Forewarned is forearmed. Don't let Parillo interfere with your hike. If you see something, say something.

ETA: Thanks for the awards!