Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, LaChrisha Gray, prosecuted the cases on behalf of the State of Missouri. Howard was represented by counsel.
Howard faced charges in three separate cases with the charges of forcible rape and sodomy, child molestation, and statutory rape and sodomy in the second degree. All offenses occurred in or around 2013 and 2014 and were presented to the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office some time later.
A plea and sentencing hearing was held on May 3, 2022 and Henry County Circuit Judge M. Brandon Baker sentenced Howard to a controlling sentence of ten years in the Missouri Department of Corrections. More specifically, Howard will serve ten years on the forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and child molestation charges. He was sentenced to seven years imprisonment in the statutory rape and sodomy case, which is the maximum sentence for statutory rape or sodomy in the second degree.
According to Assistant Prosecutor LaChrisha Gray, the defendant will be required, by law, to serve eighty-five percent of the ten year sentence, which is eight and one half years, before being eligible for parole. Assistant Prosecutor Gray adds that the defendant will not only be required to register as a sex offender, but will also be supervised for the remainder of his life. Lifetime supervision of a sex offender includes more heightened requirements and monitoring of the offender, and any violations thereof could result in new criminal charges.
