Michael Howard, a 36-year-old Burlington resident, has been arrested on 40 counts of sexual abuse and 40 counts of sodomy after an alleged victim came forward to detectives, according to a press release from the Boone County Sheriff’s office.
The victim, who was not named in the release, said the abuse began after Howard had hired him in 2019 when he was 15. Police investigations, which began on Dec. 27 after receiving a report, revealed that Howard and the victim had attended the same church (which is also not named in the release), that Howard had begun sending sexually explicit text messages to the victim in the spring of 2019 and that multiple instances of abuse had occurred over the subsequent four-year period.
Howard was arrested on Jan. 2. He is currently being held at Boone County Jail on a $250,000 bond. Police said there are not immediate indications of other victims at the time of their release.
Anyone with any additional information on the case should contact the Boone County Sheriff’s Department at (859)334-3651.