Jury trial ordered for parolee in new child abuse case

A Wichita parolee convicted of sexually abusing his three sisters in a case that drew national attention will face a jury trial in a new child molestation case, a Sedgwick County judge decided Thursday after hearing testimony from the girl making the allegations.

Matthew Henderson pleaded not guilty.

If convicted of child rape under Kansas’ version of Jessica’s Law, he could be incarcerated for life. He has already spent about seven years in prison for abusing his twin sisters, Kellie and Kathie Henderson, and their younger sister.

That case became well-known in 2010 after The Eagle published a series about the abuse called “Promise Not to Tell.” Matthew Henderson’s brother, Andrew Henderson, and his father, Brad Henderson, also were convicted of sexually abusing the girls.

The twins and their younger sister, Rachelle Henderson, later appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” to encourage other child sex abuse victims to speak out. The twins were molested from age 3 to 13. Police were alerted in 2005.

The new allegations stem from an incident in December 2012, about six months after Matthew Henderson was released on parole in the case involving his sisters.

The girl in the new case testified at a preliminary hearing Thursday that Henderson kissed her and had intercourse with her when she was 12. The alleged abuse took place at a relative’s apartment, where Henderson was visiting. The girl reported it to a counselor late last spring and then to her mother, nearly three years later.

“I suppose I feel like he violated me,” she said when Sedgwick County Assistant District Attorney Angela Wilson asked her to recount what happened.

Henderson, 27, sat silently during the girl’s testimony. He jotted notes occasionally on a notepad, whispering sometimes with his attorney. He was dressed in a bright orange jail jumpsuit and wore handcuffs and shackles around his ankles.

After the girl’s testimony, Henderson’s attorney, Chris O’Hara, called her credibility into question and asked that the case be dismissed.

District Judge Ben Burgess denied the request — the girl’s credibility was for a jury to mull over, he said — and bound Henderson over for trial on one count of raping a child younger than 14.

Henderson is next due in court April 25.

Matthew Henderson was 17 when he was charged with sexually abusing his sisters. The woman who alerted authorities to that case, Shelley Vasey, also was involved in reporting the current allegations against Henderson, The Eagle reported in August.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Jury trial ordered for parolee in new child abuse case."