North Texas man sentenced to 27 months in federal prison on obscenity conviction

LUBBOCK, Texas — A north Texas man was sentenced Friday to 27 months in federal prison following his guilty plea in October 2014 to one count of transferring obscene material to a minor.

This sentence was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney John Parker, Northern District of Texas.  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the San Angelo Police Department’s Special Operations Division investigated this case.

According to documents filed in the case, in March 2014, Howard engaged in a series of online and telephone texting communications with “Jane Doe,” a person he knew to be a 13-year-old girl.  During the communications, Howard often turned the subject to sexually explicit matters.  On March 13, 2014, Howard chatted with Jane Doe in the San Angelo, Texas, area and used an online application to send her an obscene, sexually explicit photograph of an adult male.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.