By Dan Sullivan | Tampa Bay Times Staff Writer
The defendant was a shy high school student who took nude photographs of a sleeping 6-year-old girl and uploaded them to a website frequented by pedophiles from all over the world.
His lawyer said the then-16-year-old was a sheltered youth who didn't know such an act could send him to prison. The prosecutor said the teen was a dangerous predator who needed to be separated from society.
In a four-hour hearing last week, Jared Kyle Henry's defense presented one witness after another who talked about what a good boy he was, how he had never been disobedient or mean, how he went to Christian school and said "yes, sir," and "yes, m'am."
But as a parade of Henry's aunts, uncles, grandparents, and family friends testified, so did those close to the victim, another family member. The story that emerged was one of a family ripped apart by the actions of a naïve boy who left them all with irreparable scars and reverberating pain.
He was arrested in 2014 after Canadian authorities passed a tip to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about images Henry had uploaded online. The 18-year-old had pleaded guilty to most of the charges against him, which included promotion of sexual performance by a child, lewd or lascivious molestation, and possession of child pornography.
"He set in motion the utter destruction of my family," the victim's mother said. "Our lifelong relationships have been completely severed. …
"Mr. Henry has stripped my daughter of a normal childhood. She will be reminded of these acts the rest of her life."
Family members packed both sides of the courtroom. Some, when they spoke, asked Circuit judge Ashley Moody to go light on Henry.
He was a precocious youngster who kept to himself, they said. He lived in Plant City with his mother, a civilian employee of the Hillsborough County sheriff's office.
Patricia Henry spoke of how remorseful her son was, how his arrest and the subsequent court case had devastated him and how what he had done had made it difficult for some family members to speak with each other.
"I just want you to know that I'm very sorry," she told the family. "I wanted to tell you this from day one. If I could have done anything to prevent it, I would have."
Michael Gamache, a forensic psychologist, said Henry was a lonely, sexually inexperienced kid, who started looking at adult pornography in his early teens. At about age 15, Henry's peers began to have sexual experiences, something he wanted, but didn't know how to achieve, the doctor said.
Henry began to seek out pornography that depicted girls close to his own age, the doctor said. That led him to stumble across websites where pedophiles are known to trade images of young children. He took the pictures of the 6-year-old and uploaded them in return for pictures of naked teens.
In forensic interviews, Henry professed no sexual interest in young children himself, a claim backed up by a psychosexual assessment, Gamache said. He also showed no signs of being a sociopath and was considered unlikely to repeat his crimes.
Assistant State Attorney Aaron Hubbard noted the lengths to which Henry went to hide his pornography, placing it in a hidden folder on his iPad secured with long, complex passwords. The state sought a 15-year prison sentence.
"In no way do I feel that he was acting as a typical 16-year-old," Hubbard said.
Defense attorney William Knight asked Henry how he felt about what he had done.
"I never thought I would be in this situation," Henry said. "I got caught in something that was over my head. … It's torn my family apart. There's not an hour that goes by that I don't think about that. I just wish I could change it."
He asked the judge if he could address the victim's mother. He turned around. Tears flowed. With his palms raised, he croaked out an apology.
"I'm sorry for the pain I've caused you," he said. "Whether or not you believe me, I'm truly sorry."
At the end, Judge Moody said she needed a few days to consider the sentence, given Henry's age and the circumstances.
On Monday morning, she gave Henry eight years in state prison followed by 22 years of sex offender probation. He will have to register as a sex offender for life.
Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.