Alabama man sentenced in sextortion scheme involving a KU student

Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez today announced that Devaris L. Howard, 21, of Gadsden, Ala., was sentenced to 41 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections for the sexual extortion of a then 19-year-old University of Kansas student in 2022.

“This sentence sends the message that our community will not tolerate predators who try to terrorize us for their own depraved pleasure,” District Attorney Valdez said. “No one is alone. Our law enforcement partners and the District Attorney’s Office will aggressively pursue these predators to bring them to justice.”

Judge Amy Hanley also sentenced Howard to 36 months of post-release supervision.

Charges stemmed from incidents that occurred between August and October 2022 when Howard sent messages, via text and social media sharing platforms, in which he threatened to distribute images and video where the woman was in a state of nudity and that were sexual in nature. Howard, who threatened to distribute the materials if the woman did not comply with his demands, initiated his scheme after obtaining images that were taken when the victim was 13 years old.

The matter was investigated by the Special Victims Unit of the Lawrence Kansas Police Department and the Gadsden Alabama Police Department.