Brooksville man who impregnated teen sentenced to six years
A man who admitted to having sex multiple times with a teenage girl three years ago waited until the 11th hour to plead guilty and accept a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
George Hendricks, 44, of Brooksville, originally was charged with 35 counts of sexual battery and one count of interference with child custody.
His jury trial was scheduled to being Tuesday morning, but the defendant averted it by entering a guilty plea to one count of sexual battery.
Following his prison sentence, he will serve five years of sex offender probation and will be required to register as a sexual predator.
“The victim and law enforcement were in favor of it,” said prosecutor Bill Catto.
The victim, who is now 19 years old, did not want to testify, he said.
The girl moved into Hendricks’ home in Brooksville in late 2008 and the two lived together for about three months. During that time, the victim became pregnant, according to the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office.
Hendricks told the girl if she regularly had sex with him in a certain position, the pregnancy would be terminated. Eventually, he drove her to Jacksonville so she could have an abortion, detectives said.
The girl was admitted to a women’s health center and Hendricks returned to Brooksville. He told the girl’s mother, a detective and a representative with the Department of Children and Families the girl had run away.
Deputies received a tip the girl was in Jacksonville. They also learned Hendricks intended to pick up the victim and drive out of state. He was arrested Feb. 17, 2009 on a warrant.
Hendricks didn’t always maintain a low profile while in jail. Authorities said William Peter Faiella Jr., another accused sexual predator, told Hendricks in December 2010 he wanted to assassinate his attorney, Devon Sharkey, and the prosecutor, Lisa Herndon.
Hendricks alerted law enforcement about the conversation, Catto said.
As a result, Faiella was charged with two counts of criminal solicitation to commit first-degree murder. He is still awaiting trial.
Since his arrest in early 2008, Hendricks has spent every day behind bars. As a result, he was credited for two years and eight months of time served. He has less than four years remaining on his sentence.
