Court Watching: Sumpter resident pleads guilty to accosting child for immoral purposes

By Diane Madigan
Independent Court Reporter
On April 30 in Wayne County Circuit Court, Paul Edward Henson, 43, of Sumpter Township stood with his Legal Aid defense attorney Donald Johnson to plead guilty as charged to a felony of accosting a child for immoral purposes.
In the plea deal, Henson will be on probation for five years, participate in a sex offender treatment program, be listed as a Tier 2 sex offender on the Sex Offender Registry and may not have any contact with children under the age of 16 years.
In Judge James R. Chylinski’s courtroom at the 3rd Circuit Court, Frank Murphy Hall of Justice, Henson admitted on Oct. 9 to trying to talk a child under 16 into a sex act.
The victim was his 15-year-old step-daughter that was living with him, her mother and her grandmother on Nevada at the Holiday West Mobile Home Park in Sumpter Township.
According to the police report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, on Oct. 9 Henson wrote a letter to the victim asking her to dress a certain way and inviting her into his bedroom while her mother was at work.
The victim told her school counselor about the letter which started a Child Protective Services investigation.
CPS removed the victim from the home and she is now living with her sister.
On Oct. 10, Henson went into the teen’s bedroom to get the letter and then burned it. Then he tried to commit suicide, according to police records.
The police records show previous reports of Henson inappropriately touching the girl and sitting in her room while she slept.
Henson’s bond was set at $50,000 or 10% and he posted bond and was released.
Henson will be sentenced on May 23 in Judge Chylinski’s courtroom.