Valdosta, Georgia, Resident Sentenced to 33 Years in Prison for Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material, Assaulting Federal Officer

ALBANY, Ga. – A Valdosta, Georgia, man was sentenced to the statutory maximum of 30 years in prison for producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as child pornography, plus an additional three years of imprisonment for assaulting a jailer while in federal custody.

Laronce Howell, 46, of Valdosta, was sentenced to serve a total of 396 months in prison (the statutory maximum of 360 months for the production of child pornography and 36 months in prison for assault of a federal officer) by U.S. District Judge W. Louis Sands on March 26. In addition, he will serve 15 years of supervised release and will register as a sex offender upon release from prison. Howell pleaded guilty to the production of child pornography in Case No. 7:22-cr-00055 on Oct. 5, 2023, and he pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal officer in Case No. 7:24-cr-00041 on Feb. 20. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Recidivist violent offenders like Laronce Howell, who was only on parole from state prison for one month when he filmed a minor being sexually abused, will see their cases in federal court,” said Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “In the pursuit of justice, we will maximize the use of our federal resources against those producing child sexual abuse material.”

“This is an outstanding effort by our detectives, the U.S. Attorney's Office and numerous community partners who dedicated countless hours to prepare this case for prosecution, resulting in a dangerous predator being removed from our community and held accountable for his actions,” stated Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan. “These cases are heartbreaking, and we remain committed to working together to ensure these victims receive the justice they deserve.”

According to court documents and statements made in Court, Howell used his cell phone to film a 13-year-old minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct with two adult men on Oct. 1, 2020, and sent the video to a family member. Valdosta Police Department officers investigated the case and arrested Howell on approximately Oct. 14, 2020. Howell was a federal inmate housed by the United States Marshals Service at the Tift County, Georgia, Jail when he assaulted an officer on Nov. 20, 2024. When Howell asked jailers to open his cell door, Howell immediately punched an officer in the face two times then attempted to mount the officer before he was placed in handcuffs. Howell has a lengthy criminal history at the state level, including five prior drug-related convictions, two family violence battery convictions and three robbery convictions. Howell has multiple revocations of probation and parole and was out of state prison on parole for a month before he committed the production of child pornography offense.
    
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov
    
The Valdosta Police Department (VPD) investigated the production of child pornography case, and the United States Marshals Service (USMS) investigated the assault of a federal officer case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard prosecuted both cases for the Government.