Helena Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Possessing Child Pornography

MISSOULA – Domenick James Howard, 29, formerly of Helena, Montana, was sentenced today in federal court for possession of child pornography.  On May 31, 2017, Howard entered a plea of guilty to the charge.  U.S. District Court Senior Judge Charles C. Lovell sentenced Howard to 120 months in prison.  Following his release, Howard will be subject to lifetime supervised release.  Howard was also required to forfeit two computers and an external storage device that he used to commit the crime. 

In the court filings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Cyndee L. Peterson stated that Howard had previously been convicted of a sex offense against a child.  Specifically, in November 2012, Howard was convicted of felony sexual assault for committing a hands-on sex offense against a 6-year old in Ravalli County.  Because of that conviction, Howard was sentenced to the Montana Department of Corrections for 20 years, with 15 of those years suspended.  In December 2014, Howard was conditionally released to the community and was being supervised by the Montana Probation and Parole.  On April 13, 2016, Howard was arrested for probation violations and his electronic devices were seized and searched.  An FBI Forensic Examiner examined Howard’s devices, and located image and video files depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on Howard’s desktop computer, laptop computer, and a thumb drive.  The United States said that at least one file depicted a female under the age of 12 involved in a sexual act with an adult male.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Helena Police Department, the Montana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force,  and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.