photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Michael L. Henderson

A man who solicited sex from a sheriff’s deputy posing as a 14-year-old girl online — then got arrested when he showed up with condoms to meet the girl in person — has been ordered to serve more than four years in prison.

Douglas County District Court Judge Paula Martin on Monday sentenced Michael L. Henderson, 38, of Lawrence, to 55 months in prison, followed by three years of post-release supervision. Henderson must register as a sex offender for 25 years.

Henderson had asked for probation.

His attorney, Nicholas David, argued that a lengthy prison sentence for Henderson would be “shocking and outrageous” because the victim involved was not an actual child.

Prosecutor David Melton, however, said the nature of the crime merited a severe punishment because of the anticipated harm to children, “who are impressionable and who are preyed upon” by such crimes.

Martin rejected Henderson’s request for probation, though she agreed to the 55-month prison sentence, the lowest end of the range called for under state sentencing guidelines. Henderson has no prior criminal record.

While Henderson did not actually touch a child, soliciting sex from 14-year-olds online — where communications are easily hidden — poses potential harm to more than just an individual victim, Martin said.

“It is a very definite danger to society,” she said.

The facts of this case showed that Henderson’s intentions were clear, the judge said.

“He would have had sex with a 14-year-old had it not been a law enforcement officer,” she said. “… luckily, it was not an actual 14-year-old.”

On April 11 a jury convicted Henderson of electronic solicitation of a child, a felony that could carry up to 20 years in prison under Kansas law. Henderson, who was out on bond before and throughout his trial, was taken to jail with no bond after the verdict.

His case stemmed from an October 2016 Douglas County Sheriff’s Office investigation that started after a resident reported she suspected Henderson was trying to meet young girls online for sexual purposes, according to the DA’s office. The convicting email conversation began with the deputy responding to a Craigslist personal ad in which Henderson said he was looking for a bowling partner.

David argued at trial that his client wasn’t guilty and was unfairly entrapped by law enforcement, who “manufactured” a crime and wore Henderson down with emails until he finally gave in.

Melton argued that only 15 emails into a 660-message conversation, the deputy’s online persona “Heather Johnson” told Henderson she was a 14-year-old girl. Melton said that instead of checking out, Henderson kept messaging, repeatedly steered the conversation toward sex, and asked directly in one message, “Do you want to … just have sex?” Melton said that when Henderson showed up to the place he agreed to meet “Heather,” he brought condoms.

Henderson’s sentencing was a two-part affair.

Previously, on Friday, the judge heard testimony from Henderson, his relatives and a psychologist to support the defense’s motion to depart from standard sentencing guidelines.

Clinical psychologist Gerald Gentry said his examination of Henderson indicated he was a “below average” risk to commit a similar offense again. Gentry said that Henderson had been sexually abused by family members as a child; that he suffered from depression, anxiety disorder and other mental health issues; and that he needed psychotherapy, and perhaps medication, to treat those disorders instead of being sent to prison.

Henderson said he was “deeply sorry” for what he had done but that if he were sent to prison, he would come out the same, or possibly worse.