Man abused 13-year-old girl he coerced with alcohol, feds say. Now he’s prison-bound
A Georgia man convicted in the sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl will spend nearly three decades behind bars, according to federal prosecutors.
Dewayne Howell, 50, was sentenced July 11 to 27 years in federal prison, months after a jury found him guilty of coercing a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia said in a news release.
In October 2020, Howell and his brother picked the teen and her 16-year-old sister up near their home in Valdosta, according to prosecutors. Authorities didn’t say how the two became acquainted with each other.
Howell drove to a liquor store, where he bought alcohol, and then drove them to a hotel and rented a room, prosecutors said.
He “took (the girl) alone to the hotel room, where he sexually abused her,” according to court documents. “Surveillance video from the hotel showed that Dewayne Howell then let (his brother) and (the girl’s) sister into the room.”
Howell and his brother gave the teens alcohol and later took them back home, prosecutors said.
“Child predators who target the most vulnerable members of our society will face severe punishment in federal court,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in the release. “I want to thank the local law enforcement teams in the Valdosta community for helping us hold this defendant accountable for his crime.”
Howell’s sentence is followed by 12 years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
He must pay $4,050 in restitution to the victim and register as a sex offender once he’s released, according to authorities.
Valdosta is about an 80-mile drive northeast from Tallahassee, Florida.
This story was originally published July 15, 2024 at 3:03 PM with the headline "Man abused 13-year-old girl he coerced with alcohol, feds say. Now he’s prison-bound."