Henson gets 90 years for molesting child
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008
Henson
A Fayetteville man arrested Wednesday for skipping his rape trial pleaded guilty Thursday and will serve 90 years in prison.
Jim Henry Henson, 29, entered a negotiated plea to three counts of first-degree sexual assault and failure to appear. He was initially charged with three counts of rape.
He was sentenced before 4 th Judicial Circuit Judge William Storey to 30 years on each count of sexual assault and 10 years for failure to appear. The 30-year sentences run consecutively, and the 10-year sentence runs concurrently, for a total of 90 years.
Henson admitted to police that he raped a 13-year-old girl three times in January, according to the arrest report. Henson told a witness that he wanted to kill himself for what he had done to the victim, according to the report.
Washington County sheriff 's deputies found a sawed-off shotgun in his white van when they arrested him Wednesday. As part of the plea agreement, Henson will not be prosecuted on weapons charges.
Henson appeared in court for his arraignment Thursday on the failure to appear charge and decided to seek a plea agreement on the rape charges, officials said. If the rape case went to trial, he faced a possibility of three life sentences.
Rape is a Class Y felony. If convicted, each count carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. First-degree sexual assault is a Class A felony, which carries a sentence of 6 to 30 years.
David Harris, 4 th Judicial District deputy prosecutor, said he is relieved for the victim that she will not have to testify.
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