Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 68-year-old Howard Farrell of Blasdell has been sentenced by Erie County Court Judge James Bargnesi to 3 years in prison followed by 10 years of post-release supervision. The defendant will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

The defendant admitted that on March 15, 2019, he attempted to subject a juvenile female to sexual contact by forcible compulsion at a location in the Town of Hamburg.

Farrell pleaded guilty to one count of Attempted Sexual Abuse in the First Degree, a Class “E” felony, on May 23, 2019.

DA Flynn commends Detective Scott Fraser of the Town of Hamburg Police Department for his work in the investigation.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Katharine S. Lavin of the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.