By Jim Hannah
The Cincinnati Enquirer

COVINGTON - Larry Eugene Howell was found guilty Wednesday evening of providing marijuana to young boys and being a persistent felon.

Howell

Mr. Howell, 41, formerly of Erlanger, was convicted of two counts of unlawful transaction with a minor and one count of trafficking in marijuana within 1,000 yards of a school. The jury found him not guilty on two othercounts of unlawful transaction with a minor.

Mr. Howell's attorney contended the maximum Mr. Howell can be sentenced to is 20 years. Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney Bill Crockett said his office will research whether Mr. Howell can legally be imprisoned for 30 years.

Kenton Circuit Judge Douglas Stephens will have the final say during a sentencing hearing scheduled at 10 a.m. Monday in the Kenton County Justice Center.

Prosecutors said Mr. Howell sold baggies with small quantities of marijuana outside his house on Dixie Highway as a way to lure young boys to his home, where he would gain their trust before sodomizing them.

Mr. Howell faces additional sex charges, including 60 counts of sodomy and sexual abuse of boys as young as 10.

A trial date on the sex charges is expected to be set after the sentencing on Monday. Mr. Crockett said the trial will probably be in January. Mr. Howell has consistently denied he molested the boys.

Mr. Howell has been in an isolation cell in the Kenton County jail since November 2001. His case gained recognition when the mother of one of his alleged victims shot him in the groin just outside the Covington police station.

E-mail jhannah@enquirer.com