Maryland Man Convicted on Child Sex Abuse Charges

East New Market, MD - A federal jury has convicted a Maryland man of multiple child sex-abuse crimes following a four-day trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

The jury found James Edward Howeth, 43, of East New Market, guilty of two counts of sexually exploiting a minor. He was also convicted of one count of distributing child sexual abuse material, known as CSAM, and three counts of possessing CSAM.

Howeth faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in federal prison. The maximum possible sentence is 140 years.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the verdict alongside FBI Baltimore Field Office Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul and Maryland State Police Superintendent Colonel Michael A. Jackson.

Evidence at trial showed that Howeth enticed and coerced a minor female into sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing CSAM.

Prosecutors also proved that Howeth used a cell phone to distribute CSAM to another person.

Court documents state that between April 2021 and April 2022, Howeth produced sexually explicit images of the victim, who was 4 and 5 years old at the time. In September 2023, Howeth sent a text message containing a CSAM file to another person.

On March 14, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Howeth's home in East New Market. Officers seized two cell phones, a laptop, and a desktop computer.

A search of the phones revealed a text conversation in which Howeth discussed his sexual attraction to the victim and other children.

Investigators also found CSAM images of the victim that Howeth had produced on two separate occasions.

In total, law enforcement found more than 200 CSAM files on the cell phones and more than 100 CSAM files on the laptop.

Howeth faces 15 to 30 years in prison for each count of sexually exploiting a minor. He faces five to 20 years for distributing CSAM, and up to 20 years for each count of possessing CSAM.

The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation. The program brings together federal, state, and local resources to find and prosecute offenders and to identify child victims.

Actual sentences are typically lower than the maximum allowed by law. A federal judge will determine the sentence after considering federal guidelines and other factors.

U.S. Attorney Hayes thanked the FBI and Maryland State Police for their work on the investigation. She also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn and Reema Sood, who prosecuted the case.

Disclosure: All individuals mentioned in this article are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Eastern Shore Undercover® does not express or imply any opinion regarding the incident reported.