The Latest: Former exec with 9-11 role pleads in abuse case

PITTSBURGH – The Latest on the change of plea for a former American Airlines executive (all times local):

2 p.m.

A former American Airlines operations manager who learned of the first Sept. 11 hijacking before the jet struck the World Trade Center has pleaded guilty in Pittsburgh to a federal interstate child-sex charge.

Prosecutors have agreed to recommend a 10-year prison term after the plea Wednesday by 55-year-old Ray Howland.

Howland was arrested near Pittsburgh International Airport last June by an undercover agent who posed as a woman with a 10-year-old daughter. Howland, of Arlington, Texas, used an iPad and cellphone to send explicit messages after posting online that he was “looking for a family or a couple of girls” for sex while in town on business.

Defence lawyer Frank Walker says the two sides negotiated the recommended sentence that a judge must still approve. He says his client has undergone counselling and has his family’s support.

___

8 a.m.

A former American Airlines operations manager who learned of the first Sept. 11 hijacking before the jet struck the World Trade Center is set to plead guilty to a federal interstate child-sex charge in Pittsburgh.

Defence attorney Frank Walker confirmed 55-year-old Ray Howland will plead guilty Wednesday afternoon.

Howland was arrested near Pittsburgh International Airport last June by an undercover state attorney general’s agent who posed as a woman with a 10-year-old daughter. Howland, of Arlington, Texas, used an iPad and cellphone to send explicit messages after posting online that he was “looking for a family or a couple of girls” for sex while in town on business.

Walker says the plea deal includes an agreed-upon 10-year prison sentence. He says Howland has undergone counselling and has his family’s support.