On Tuesday afternoon when Ricky Dale Howard plead guilty to sexual exploitation of a child in federal court the local prosecutor and investigators breathed a small sigh of relief.
While it may not have been the justice they were seeking revealing the location of missing teen Caleb Diehl they say it was the “absolute right thing” and they won’t stop the search for the 18-year-old.
Friday morning after weeks of trial preparation and a whirlwind two days in court, 97th District Attorney Casey Polhemus, DA Investigator Chris Hamilton and County Judge Kevin Benton, a retired investigator, took a few moments to reflect on the trial’s result, its impact on the families and them.
They all say it was good people doing their jobs that got them here.
The trial of Howard on four child pornography charges opened Monday with jury selection following by witness testimony. That night a juror was injured in a freak accident and U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor declared a mistrial Tuesday morning. A short time later Howard elected to plead guilty to one count of production of a child pornography involving the missing victim, believed to be Caleb Diehl.
The sentencing hearing will be at 9 a.m. on Oct. 27 when he could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison.
Polhemus, 97th District Attorney, said the plea was the culmination of the cooperative effort between the DA’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Northern District, Wichita Falls division.
Per the plea agreement the U.S. government will move to dismiss at sentencing any remaining federal counts and indictments the defendant has not pled guilty to.
The DA agreed to dismiss a series of four currently indicted cases once Howard is sentenced. Polhemus added it does not affect any future cases and the missing person investigation into Caleb Diehl is “open and active.”

The outcome
Settled into the office of the DA, all three appeared glad a hectic week was coming to an end. Polhemus said they certainly felt the plea bargain was appropriate. Both Benton and Hamilton agreed noting it was the maximum offense.

Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.