A Mississippi man pleaded guilty in federal court to production of child pornography.

According to court documents, in April 2021, Delvan Jerrod Howard, 43, of Jackson, video recorded himself engaging in sexually explicit conduct with a minor.

Howard was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2022. He is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.  A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee of the Southern District of Mississippi and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jessica Orench of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement.

The case was investigated by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Cyber Crime Unit and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.