Missouri Man Who Blackmailed Teens for Nude Images Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison

CAPE GIRARDEAU - A man from Bollinger County, Missouri was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for using threats to coerce two 13-year-old girls into sending him nude images.

Terry Michael Howard, 21, of Marble Hill, pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. He admitted communicating with the two teens via Snapchat in December of 2024, when he was 19. Howard claimed to be the father of a 13-year-old boy who the victims knew. He threatened to hurt or kill the boy if they did not send him sexually explicit material. In January 2025, the Bollinger County Sheriff's Office received a report about the allegations and investigated, resulting in Howard's confession. The FBI located records of the chats, and Howard's threats. Howard told investigators that he initially did this as a joke and stopped when he realized the girls were scared.

"Terry Michael Howard actually knew both minors but pretended to be someone else online to trick them. He threatened to harm a third juvenile if the two victims didn't produce sexually explicit images," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Weston of the FBI St. Louis Division. "I commend both 13-year-old victims for their bravery. Even though they were the ones who were sexually exploited, they called 911 because they were worried another person would be harmed."

After his release from prison, Howard will be on supervised release for 20 years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

The Bollinger County Sheriff's Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.