Attorney General Announces Sentencing for Burley Man Charged With Child Porn Possession
A man from Burley received a 25-year prison sentence for distributing child pornography in Idaho. Attorney General Raúl Labrador announced Wednesday.
A 28-year-old individual named Tyrell Howell was found guilty of two felony charges related to the distribution of sexually exploitative content involving children, commonly referred to as child pornography.
The district judge from Cassia County, Blaine Cannon, sentenced Howell on May 19 to serve 25 years behind bars. He becomes eligible for parole after completing five years of his sentence. Additionally, Howell is required to register as a sex offender.
Idaho has no tolerance for individuals involved in the despicable exploitation of children," stated Attorney General Labrador. "This statement underscores the gravity of such crimes and demonstrates my office’s dedication to safeguarding Idaho’s weakest members. I appreciate the cooperative work between our Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and local police forces in apprehending this perpetrator. We remain committed to pursuing anyone who targets children with all legal resources at our disposal.
As stated in legal papers, sometime around September 2024, the ICAC unit received information indicating that an online profile was utilized for sharing child sexual exploitation content. This particular account was subsequently recognized as belonging to Howell.
Rupert Police Detective Sam Kuoha managed to secure account details related to Howell. Using the data collected during this period, law enforcement officials were capable of linking two additional leads connected to Howell that originated in 2020 and 2022.
The police secured search warrants for Howell’s residence and various devices. Subsequently, investigators from the Office of the Attorney General uncovered numerous files containing child sexual abuse material along with chat transcripts. These records revealed communications between Howell and several others. A significant number of these shared files portrayed minors, primarily preadolescent girls as young as two years old, according to an official statement. Additionally, some documents illustrated explicit content involving violence coupled with sexual activities featuring adults.
Detective Kuoha headed the inquiry, given his role as an ICAC affiliate.
Detective Kuoha and the Rupert Police Department received assistance from the Cassia County Sheriff's Office, the Twin Falls County Sheriff's Office, and the Cassia County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. The statement also notes that Deputy Attorney General James Haws handled the prosecution of the case.
