A Lancaster city man was sentenced to 30-105 years in prison on November 18 in Lancaster County Court for the kidnapping and sexual assault of an Indiana child in December of 2020.

Andrew E. Howland, 39, drove through several states to pick up a 13-year-old child in the middle of the night after finding the child on the internet and engaging in a months-long online relationship.  He then drove the child back to Lancaster County where he took the child to two separate hotels in East and West Hempfield Townships. West Hempfield Township police arrested Howland after finding him in the Comfort Inn on Abel Drive with the child.

Family members found social media messages between Howland and the child, which were provided to the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department. Howland was then located through location data on his cell phone.

Howland was found guilty of all counts by jury in August of 2021; Lancaster County Judge Donald Totaro ordered sentence.

Totaro said Howland was “one of the most dangerous types of offenders.”  This sentence will ensure that if he is ever released from prison, he will be supervised by State parole and will have to register as a sex offender with the Pennsylvania State Police for the rest of his life.

“The transcript will not portray how evil the defendant really is,” Totaro said.

Assistant District Attorney Amy Muller prosecuted the case.

“The world is a safer place without him having access to our children,” Muller said.

Detectives George Brace and Brent Shultz filed the charges.  Law enforcement agencies involved in the safe recovery of the child were the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Lancaster City Bureau of Police, Columbia Borough Police Department and the West Hempfield Police Department. 

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.