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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; An elderly man will spend up to four years in jail for molesting a girl with Asperger&#8217;s syndrome he babysat for more than two years.</p><p>Curtis Burton Howell, 76, of Luzerne, showed the girl, who was between the ages of 11 and 12 at the time, pornographic cartoons while touching her genitals and exposing himself to her inside his Walnut Street home between 2010 and 2012, according to police.</p><p>Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley on Thursday sentenced Howell to two to four years in county prison followed by five years probation. He must register as a Tier III sexual offender and can not have contact with children under the age of 18 or frequent places they gather, the judge ordered.</p><p>A jury in May convicted Howell of indecent exposure, indecent assault, corruption of minors and disseminating sexually explicit material to a minor, according to court records.</p><p>Police say Howell, after showing the girl the pornographic materials, took hold of her hand and placed it on his genitals &#8220;for his own sexual gratification.&#8221;</p><p>The victim was able to describe the interior of Howell&#8217;s home to investigators despite his claims she was never inside, police say.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Joe Dolinsky</p><p>jdolinsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Joe Dolinsky at 570-991-6110 or on Twitter @JoeDolinskyTL</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Judge sentences 76-year-old babysitter who molested child