Henderson had been a registered sex offender since a 2010 conviction in Duval County.
PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — On Friday, the State of Florida declared its intention to pursue the death penalty against a registered sex offender facing additional child sex crime charges in Putnam County.
As noted in a May 16 update from the sheriff’s office, 34-year-old Dimeco Henderson of Welaka, who was already on the sex offender registry, was charged in April with committing sexual offenses involving two minors in Putnam County.
Detectives in Putnam County were alerted to Henderson’s suspected offenses against the children on April 30. Investigators interviewed the children at their elementary school before they were taken to the county’s child protection team for further interviews.
One of the victims told investigators that Henderson had sex with them over the span of three years, giving them “nightmares,” the sheriff’s office said. The mother of the victim reportedly told detectives she knew Henderson was a registered sex offender, and didn’t let her children near him until she was “comfortable with it.” She told detectives she didn’t see any red flags with Henderson and her children, the sheriff’s office said.
The second victim told investigators they had been assaulted for the past year when Henderson would stay at their house.
Following interviews with the victims, Henderson was charged with lewd and lascivious battery on a victim age 12-15 and four counts of sexual assault on a child less than 12 years old. He was transported to the Putnam County Jail and held without bond.
On Friday, State Attorney R.J. Larizza announced the state would be seeking the death penalty against Henderson, which is a first for their office.
“This is the first time our office has filed this notice in a Capital Sexual Battery case since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law allowing a jury to recommend a death sentence for the crime,” Larizza’s office wrote.
Henderson was convicted in 2010 in Duval County for lewd and lascivious sexual battery with a victim 12-15 years old.
