Victim: ‘I was manipulated’ by teacher

After it was revealed that a Parkview High School student had been sexually abused for two years by her teacher, Michael “Mikey” Henderson, she didn’t receive compassion from her fellow students.

Instead, she was harassed and threatened to the point that she stopped going to school days before her graduation, her mother said. When she walked the stage to receive her diploma, students booed her.

Henderson, 33, pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual assault related to the abuse on Wednesday. He was sentenced to 20 years, with five to serve in prison and the rest on probation.

The victim, now 18, had not planned to say anything at Henderson’s plea hearing but decided to speak up after he refused to make eye contact with her or her aunt, who delivered a prepared victim impact statement.

“I was used, I was manipulated and I thought it was something else than it really was. I never wanted it to get to this. Pretty sure you didn’t either,” the victim said. “But it’s time to face the consequences.”

Henderson is one of four former Gwinnett teachers who were charged with sexually abusing students within a two-week period in May 2017, and the first to be convicted. At his plea hearing, Henderson said only that he was there to “accept [his] responsibility.”

Henderson, a former University of Georgia wide receiver, taught broadcasting and coached football at Parkview and was a popular faculty member. Even after he admitted to sexually abusing the victim, multiple teachers came to a June hearing, hoping to serve as “character witnesses.”

The victim was subject to harassment and threats both in person and on social media after Henderson’s arrest, her parents said in written impact statements. Judge Tom Davis put the blame for the bullying squarely on the former teacher’s shoulders.

“You are responsible for every slur, every evil, nasty, despicable thing that some other high school child said to the victim in this case because you are the one who set it in motion,” Davis said.

The victim’s grades declined after the abuse began. She intended to go to college last fall, but did not enroll, according to her mother’s statement.

“She is aimless,” said the victim’s aunt. “She is still struggling to cope with what happened to her and trying to figure out where she goes from here.”

Before the victim’s parents learned about the abuse, they viewed Henderson as a “great teacher and coach,” according to her father’s letter. Her brother played football on a team that Henderson helped coach; now, the she is afraid to go watch her brother play because she doesn’t want to be recognized by other students.

Neither parent was able to attend the hearing. Their statements were given to Davis, who read sections aloud.