West Michigan man sentenced to 25 years for child sexual exploitation

HOLLAND, Mich. – A 25-year-old Holland man will spend more than two decades in federal prison for sexually exploiting a child.

According to authorities, a woman reached out to police in November 2024 after Darian Howard had taken sexually explicit photographs of her 3-year-old daughter. Over the course of the investigation, police discovered Howard had taken sexually explicit photos of two other 3-year-old girls and allegedly recorded a video of him sexually assaulting one of them.

Howard was charged with three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and pleaded guilty to one of the counts in May 2025. The other two charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

On Wednesday, Aug. 27, Howard was sentenced to 25 years in prison.