Champaign sex offender sentenced to 40 years in prison for child exploitation crimes following ICE HSI Chicago investigation
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A Champaign, Illinois, man, Charles Howard, 41, of the 400 block of North James St., was sentenced on April 12, 2022, to 40 years’ (480 months) imprisonment for sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child pornography announced Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Elly M. Peirson, Assistant United States Attorney of the Office Central District of Illinois.
According to court documents, Howard sexually abused and exploited a 15-year-old minor female in his care and threatened to kill her and himself if she disclosed the abuse.
Howard has two prior convictions for criminal sexual abuse in Champaign County, from 2000 and 2001, and was a registered sex offender on the date of this offense. Howard was initially arrested by state authorities in June 2020.
“HSI is proud to work with our law enforcement partners to protect our communities by making sure offenders like Howard are investigated,” said Homeland Security Investigations Chicago Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar. “We will continue to identify and investigate those who endanger our most vulnerable population and protect our children. We will not allow crimes against children to go unpunished.”
A federal grand jury charged Howard with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of commission of a sex offense as a registered sex offender in September 2020. Howard was transferred to the custody of the U.S. Marshals service, where he has remained. He pleaded guilty in October 2021 to the three-count indictment.
ICE HSI and the Champaign Police Department conducted the investigation with the cooperation of Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Reitz. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elly Peirson represented the government in this prosecution.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
Learn more about HSI’s child exploitation mission @HSIChicago.
Updated: