A man has been sentenced to 222 months in prison without the possibility of parole, a $20,000 fine and an additional 15 years of supervised release for the charge of attempted production of child pornography, according to Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
The man was identified as Christopher Howe, 42, and the sentencing took place before Judge Jimm Larry Hendren in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
U. S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “The defendant in this case has now been brought to justice for his despicable behavior. It is simply inexcusable for someone to victimize a minor in any circumstance, let alone by secretly recording them in this manner. We will continue to aggressively prosecute cases such as these and hold the perpetrators of these crimes accountable.”
According to court records, on March 26, 2013, a concerned parent contacted the Tontitown Police Department after finding nude videos of her minor daughter on a cell phone.
The Tontitown Police Department responded by dispatching officers to Howe’s residence and making contact with he reporting parent.
At the time, the parent present an iPhone belonging to Howe that contained hidden camera recordings of a 16-year-old female taken in the bathroom of the home while she undressed and showered.
“The videos themselves showed that Howe, on multiple occasions over an eighth month period, set an iPhone to record and concealed it in the bathroom just before the minor entered to shower. Howe would then retrieve the video afterwards and, in some cases, edit the video down to short clips of the minor fully nude or in compromising positions,” a news release from Eldridge stated.
This case was investigated by the Tontitown Police Department and the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce.
