SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — A South Padre Island man who pleaded guilty to having nearly 1,500 images of child pornography on his laptop computers and electronic devices was sentenced to five years in prison Wednesday.
Seventy-year-old Howard William Halverson appeared before U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera, who handed him a sentence of 60 months in federal prison and ordered him to pay more than $50,000 in restitution.
The judge considered Halverson’s age when he issued the sentence, the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Texas stated in a press release.
A third of the photos in Halverson’s collection of child pornography included known victims.
According to the U.S.Attorney’s Office, the judge also ruled that once Halverson serves his sentence he will spend the rest of his life on supervised release, limiting his access to children and the internet. He also will be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Halverson was arrested July 6, 2016, at his Island condominium after federal agents discovered he was using peer-to-peer software designed to exchange and view child pornography.
When he was apprehended, agents found laptops and hard drives filled with pornography at Halverson’s condo, including open files of the pictures on a computer sitting on his dining room table.
Halverson is considered a flight risk, so he will remain in custody until he is transferred to a federal prison, the USAO stated.
