Fostoria man placed on intensive probation in amended sexual abuse case

A Fostoria man was recently placed on intensive probation in Defiance County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to an amended indictment in a sexual abuse.

Christopher Henry, 46, Fostoria, had pleaded guilty in January to sexual battery, a third-degree felony, and a pre-sentence investigation was ordered.

After that investigation was completed, Judge Joseph Schmenk placed Henry on intensive supervised probation for four years with conditions, including that he serve six months in the Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio, have no contact with the victim and pay $6,651 restitution to the victim.

Henry also was classified as a tier III sexual offender requiring that he register his address with authorities for the rest of his life while his teaching license is to be surrendered to the Ohio Board of Education.

Two counts of rape, each a first-degree felony, were dismissed as part of the plea negotiations between Henry’s attorney, Lorin Zaner of Toledo, and the Hancock County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office which handled the case. (Defiance County Prosecutor Morris Murray withdrew due to the possible appearance of a conflict of interest while Henry also had a connection to Hancock County.)

An August indictment by a Defiance County grand jury alleged that on May 14, 2011 at a Breckler Road residence Henry had sexual conduct and contact “with a female juvenile whose ability to resist or consent was substantially impaired.”