Judge Surprises Molester

Judge Surprises Molester

By Ginger Geoffery

An admitted child molester got a surprise from the judge when he went to court for sentencing Tuesday. Sixty-two-year-old Thomas Henry pleaded guilty in April to attempted sexual abuse involving two girls he knew -- ages 5 and 8 -- at his Akron home. Henry's understanding was he'd get probation in exchange for the plea, but on Tuesday State Supreme Court Justice John Michalski said the extent and type of abuse warranted a harsher sentence for Henry than probation.

"There's some material that he read (in the pre-sentence report) that he reviewed that had him reconsider the commitment," explains Henry's attorney Gary Wojtan, "I don't know exactly what that was or exactly when it came to the judge's attention but I know he's studied the case thoroughly and he indicated he was withdrawing his sentence commitment."

Henry now has two weeks to decide if he wants to withdraw his guilty plea and go to trial or accept the harsher sentence that will likely include prison time.
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