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Man Charged With 35 Counts Of Sexual Battery

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By KYLE MARTIN

Hernando Today

Published: February 18, 2009

George Hendricks

BROOKSVILLE - A Brooksville man faces 35 rape charges after multiple sexual encounters that left a teenage girl pregnant.

George Hendricks, 41, was preparing to leave the state with the 16-year-old victim when detectives caught up with him last Wednesday in Jacksonville, an arrest affidavit shows.

On Tuesday, he was brought to Hernando County, where his confession reinforced the story the victim had already told detectives.

According to an arrest affidavit and the sheriff's office, here's what happened:

The victim lived with Hendricks at his Brooksville home when the alleged rapes began in November. The victim eventually became pregnant, so Hendricks asked a friend to drive them to Jacksonville on Jan. 31 to have an abortion.

Hendricks signed for the procedure.

Hendricks returned to Brooksville and left the victim in Jacksonville. When her mother came to pick her up on Jan. 31, Hendricks lied and told her that the victim had run away.

The mother filed a missing persons report and Hendricks told the same story to a detective and the Department of Children and Families. The next day, a family member disclosed the victim's hiding place in Jacksonville.

Detectives got in touch with the friend she was hiding with, who confirmed that the victim was with her. A Jacksonville detective interviewed the victim and obtained more details about the approximately 35 rapes Hendricks reportedly committed.

On Feb. 11, Hendricks grabbed his three children and called the friend in Jacksonville. He ordered her to have the victim ready to pick up because he was leaving the state.

Instead, he was met by Jacksonville authorities, who arrested him on a warrant of interfering with child custody. On Tuesday, Hendricks was at the Hernando County Sheriff's Office, where he admitted to the rapes, according to an affidavit.

Hendricks is charged with 35 counts of sexual battery.

Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com.

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