YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A former West Manchester Township Police officer will serve at least three months in prison for possession of child pornography, according to court documents.
Chad Howell, 39, was sentenced Tuesday to three to 23 months in prison (followed by three months house arrest) and three years of probation for four counts of possession of child pornography and a single count of criminal use of a communication facility, court documents show. He is to report to York County Prison on January 6, 2020.
Howell, who faced 50 counts of child pornography, pleaded guilty to the above charges in April and as a result, was to register as a sex offender for a minimum of 15 years, the Pennsylvania Attorney’s General Office said.
The charges stemmed from an investigation in February 2017.
The state’s Attorney’s General Office said social media site Pinterest tipped off investigators that Howell was using the site to upload images of child pornography.
The investigation revealed that he possessed several photos of nude underage girls ranging from eight to 15 years old.
Howell was terminated from the police department in early March 2017.
