Richland Man Extradited from Kazakhstan Gets 23 Years for Child Porn

50-year-old Trent Drexel Howard of Richland was sentenced Thursday in Federal Court for Eastern Washington on child porn charges, and will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars.

MAN ACCUSED OF MAKING CHILD PORN FOR AT LEAST 8 YEARS

According to U.S. Federal officials, Howard used at least 14 children over an 8-year- period from 2008 through April 2016 to manufacture the pornography.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office:

 "For years, Howard used cameras hidden in bathrooms and bedrooms of his residence, within the Eastern District of Washington, to capture video footage of the minor victims in nude and semi-nude states. Federal agents discovered the video footage after execution of a search warrant authorizing the search of evidence of child pornography at Howard’s residence. Agents seized over 100 electronic devices..."

The formal investigation began as part of a sting operation when Howard sent 168 such files to an undercover agent via a public internet file-sharing network. The investigation led backward to the discovery of his operation.

 HOWARD FIRST PERSON EVER EXTRADITED FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO US

Howard was working in that country when Federal agents raided his home, he was eventually arrested in 2019 by Kazakhstan officials and then sent to the U.S.

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When he was sentenced to 23 years Thursday, Federal Judge Sal Mendoza also stipulated he spends another 20 years of Federal supervision upon his release. He had pleaded guilty to a deal of one Count of Attempted Production of Child pornography.

Kazakhstan is a former Soviet satellite nation, with borders along Mongolia, Russia, and China.