MUSCATINE, Iowa — Robert Anthony Howard, 19, is being held at the Muscatine County Jail with a cash bond of $250,000. He has been charged with second-degree sexual abuse after confessing, according to court records, to the abuse of an 18-month-old boy.

A preliminary hearing for Howard has been set for 9:30 am. Monday, Jan. 25.

Howard, 19, was arrested by Muscatine police on Jan. 15. Court records state that:

The Department of Human Services contacted police on Thursday, Jan. 14, about the toddler, who had a tear in his rectum. A doctor who had seen the injury believed it to have been caused by criminal means.

The child’s mother said she had left the child alone with Howard for at least 10 minutes on the afternoon of Jan. 14.

Howard — who lives at 917 Iowa Ave., according to court records, and is the grandson of former Muscatine City Councilman Robert E. Howard — told Muscatine police detective Tim Hull and a DHS official that he had abused the boy.

Hull said the child did not have life-threatening injuries and is being treated by a physician.

According to court records, Howard was fined $65 after pleading guilty to contributing to the delinquency of a minor in December 2009. He has also been charged with a variety of common traffic-related charges such as speeding.

SOURCE:  http://www.muscatinejournal.com/articles/2010/01/19/news/doc4b55eaff01e40671293778.txt