MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — A 19-year-old accused of producing child pornography while he was a manager at a Saraland skating rink is ‘mentally incompetent’ to stand trial on federal charges, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court.
Saraland Police arrested 19-year-old Sean Michael Howell in December 2018 on charges that included sexual torture, sodomy, enticing a child, and production of child pornography.
In January 2019, Howell was indicted on federal charges as well.
“The Court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the Defendant is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him or to assist properly in his defense,” the filing states.
The filing follows a mental evaluation performed by a doctor at the Federal Detention Center in Houston.
The court filing goes on to order Howell to “undergo a thorough assessment to determine the specific nature of his mental disability and receive mental health treatment.”
Howell’s state case has been bound over to a grand jury.