Published: October 07, 2008 09:54 am            

Sellersburg man charged with incest, sexual misconduct

A Sellersburg man charged with three counts of class B felonies incest and sexual misconduct with a minor made his first court appearance Monday.

Charges were filed against Christopher M. Henderson, 36, on Sept. 30 after DNA evidence taken from a carpet sample supported accusations by a female family member, according to a probable-cause affidavit.

The alleged victim, who is a middle-school student, reported that Henderson told her to give him oral sex. He also reportedly later had sexual intercourse with her. She said the incidents occurred between December and March.

The victim stated that Henderson came to her school to tell her not to say anything or he would go to jail, the affidavit states.

She also drew a diagram of the house and told police officers where the alleged intercourse took place. Using an ultraviolet flashlight filter, an evidence technician with the Indiana State Police found a spot on the carpet.

The ISP Lab determined the spot was from seminal material that matched Henderson’s DNA. Henderson voluntarily submitted a DNA sample.

On Monday, Superior Court No. 1 Judge Vicki Carmichael set bond at $25,000 court-cash or surety, which means he could bond out for about $2,500.

A pretrial conference was scheduled for Dec. 8. Jury trial is scheduled to begin 9 a.m. March 20. Each B felony count carries a possible prison sentence of six to 20 years and up to a $10,000 fine.

Henderson’s attorney, Andrew Adams, declined to comment after the hearing.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.