Former Teacher's Aide Sentenced for Molesting 8-Year-Old Student

Former Glendale Elementary School teacher's aide Jason Howard, 30, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing an 8-year-old girl, according to a release issued by the Prince George's County State's Attorney's Office.

“Mr. Howard is the worst kind of criminal,” Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said in a statement. “He abused the trust placed in him by school officials and by the parents of students at Glendale Elementary, to take advantage of an innocent little girl.”

Howard, who is a resident of Riverdale, was arrested in April and charged with sex abuse of a minor and other charges for allegedly molesting an 8-year-old girl, who was a student at Glendale Elementary—where Howard was employed—during a school lunch period. According to the state's attorney's office, school staff witnessed the incident.

Howard pleaded guilty to sex abuse of a minor and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, with all but 10 years of the sentence suspended, according to the state's attorney's office. He will also have to register as a sex offender and he will be prohibited from having any contact with his victim or her family.

In addition, Howard will also be placed on five years of supervised probation following his release. Even after his probation ends, he will have to submit to a lifetime of supervision requiring him to report to parole and probation even after his five year probationary release period ends, according to the state's attorney's office.