BURLINGTON, Ky. — A Burlington man is in jail on a $250,000 bond after officials said he sexually abused and sodomized a teenager for multiple years.
The Boone County Sheriff's Office said they received a report in December from a person claiming 36-year-old Michael Howard had been abusing him for four years, starting when he was 15 years old.
Officials said the teen began working for Howard in 2019. The two also attended the same church, the sheriff's office said. Months after he began working for Howard, the teen claims Howard started sending him sexual messages. That same year, the person said Howard began sexually abusing him. That abuse, the person said, happened on multiple occasions over the course of four years.
Detectives investigating the claim said they learned after conducting additional interviews that Howard had "made admissions regarding his 'three-to-four year' relationship."
Howard was arrested and charged with 40 counts of first-degree sexual abuse and 40 counts of third-degree sodomy. His court date is set for Jan. 13.
