Howard Thornton III

**Howard Thornton III** is a suspected predator confronted in the Ocean County, New Jersey edition of **To Catch a Predator.**

## Biography

27-year-old Howard Thornton III began an online conversation with a Perverted Justice decoy who was impersonating a 12-year-old girl. Between March 17 and March 31, 2007, he repeatedly called the girl "sexy," asked if she had ever orgasmed, and inquired about her ex-age boyfriend's and whether they had ever engaged in sexual activity together.

Howard crosses state lines from Danielsville, Pennsylvania in a pickup truck to the sting house in Ocean County, New Jersey. Everyone makes hasty attempts to evacuate the area, but it's too late: Howard notices the police activity and witnesses the arrest of fellow child sex offender Richard Burnham. He speeds off in his car. He is stopped on the highway and taken into custody.

## Behind the scenes

According to police, Howard turned around because he knew he would be arrested. The sting operation was referred to as an entrapment case by Horton and his attorneys. Hillary Bryce, an assistant prosecutor, did not accept his defense. Howard admitted that he went to the sting house on March 31 to meet a person he believed to be a twelve-year-old girl, but he turned back before getting to the beach house where they had planned to have a sexual encounter. In a letter to the judge that was read aloud by Deputy Assistant Public Defender Michael Vito, Howard wrote that he had a change of heart on the way to the house and that he "turned around and attempted to return to [his] family." He also claimed that he understood what he was doing was "completely wrong." In the letter, Howard expressed regret and expressed that he misses his daughters "more than anything in the world."

Vito requested that Villano sentence Howard to probation and credit for time already served since his arrest on March 31. Vito also mentioned that Howard got a certificate of achievement from a therapy program for sexual offenders at the Ocean County Jail. "It’s unimaginable the shame he feels for what he’s done," Vito said of his client.  According to Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Hillary Bryce, Howard's decision to flee the sting home on the day of his arrest was not motivated by a moral awakening but rather a fear of being caught. Bryce also claimed that they found condoms, Webcam and other “troublesome” items in his car. Bryce suggested that Howard serve five years in prison as a deterrent to other people who seek to rape children."

Howard apologized for his behavior and said he wanted to continue in counseling." "I have to say, I have been impressed with his remorse," Villano stated, "I can feel the shame that he communicates. I have been somewhat taken with how deeply shameful he is, how deeply remorseful he is." However, Villano added, "He was involved in a situation that there really is no excuse for. There is no way to minimize the need to protect children from themselves . . . and from others who would prey on them."" Howard ultimately ended up pleaded guilty to a felony charge of attempted child-luring. He was sentenced to three years in prison, lifetime parole, and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Howard was also banned from owning a computer and having unsupervised contact with children under the age of eighteen.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 https://newjersey.news12.com/amp/man-gets-3-years-after-televised-bergen-co-sex-sting-34887706
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 https://vigilantantis.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/howard-thornton-receives-3-year-sentence-in-tcap-sting-2/
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://dairystatedegenerates.blogspot.com/2021/04/to-catch-predator-update-ocean-county.html