Ricky Dale Howard, Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Texas 2023

Ricky Dale Howard, a 59-year-old Nocona man, has been convicted of preying on a local 18-year-old boy who went missing in 2015. Howard pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child, a federal crime that carries up to 30 years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah released a statement condemning Howard’s actions. ‘Although much of what happened to this young boy remains a mystery, we know one thing for sure: Before he went missing, he suffered at the hands of a child sex predator. He was preyed upon by a man his family knew and trusted,’ Shah said.

According to evidence presented in court, law enforcement obtained several of Howard’s computers during an investigation into the disappearance of the high school senior. Investigators found sexually explicit images that appeared to show Howard sexually abusing the missing boy. In pleading guilty, Howard admitted that he enticed the minor into engaging in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of creating a visual depiction.

The missing boy’s mother, Tami Diehl, testified that she and her children had been close with the Howard family since the boys were children. Diehl said her son began performing odd jobs for Howard during middle school. Following the boy’s disappearance, Howard told police the last time he’d seen the victim was the weekend before he went missing, when the pair attempted to repair his broken-down truck.

During the investigation, officers observed a burn pit with several incinerated computers on Howard’s property. Two years after the disappearance, Diehl discovered a small handheld tape recorder hidden in the back of a bathroom cabinet. The tape recorder contained audio of Howard asking himself polygraph questions pertaining to his sexual interest in young boys.

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Matthew J. DeSarno praised the work of law enforcement agencies in solving the case. ‘We will continue to work with our partners to seek justice for this victim’s family and do all that we can to ensure that vulnerable members of our community are protected from those who seek to do them harm,’ DeSarno said.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Nancy Larson are prosecuting the case, which was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, Wichita Falls Resident Agency, the Montague County Sheriff’s Office, and the Nocona Police Department. U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor presided over the trial in Fort Worth.

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