***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 31, 2015

35 YEAR OLD HENRIQUEZ CONVICTED OF MOLESTING 12 YEAR OLD "BEST FRIEND"

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

On Wednesday, August 26, 2015 an Elkhart County jury in Superior Court 3 took approximately five hours to convict Edguardo A. Henriquez, age 35 of Elkhart, of one count of Child Molesting, a Class A felony.

The convictions resulted after jurors heard two days of compelling testimony from the victim, who was twelve years old at the time of the molestation, her sister, mother and friends of the family who were in the home when the offense occurred. The victim’s family testified that Henriquez was a trusted friend who often visited on the weekends and played with the victim and her siblings. The victim told the jurors that Henriquez was her “best friend” who she confided in and went to for support and comfort when she struggled in school or had issues with her peers. Henriquez, who is two decades older than the victim, violated that trust and molested the victim, in her own home, while her family slept, unaware of the trauma that Henriquez was inflicting on their sister and daughter.

Jurors also heard from two Goshen Police Department detectives who investigated the molestation. Those officers described how they were able to collect forensic evidence from the victim during a sexual assault examination which occurred within 24 hours of the molestation. That examination revealed DNA on the victim’s neck. A forensic scientist from the Indiana State Police Laboratory testified that the DNA was consistent with that of Henriquez and would only appear in one out of 76 billion other Hispanic males. Additionally the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) who examined the victim detailed in her testimony that the victim had blunt force trauma injuries consistent with sexual assault.

Henriquez, in an interview conducted within 48 hours of the molestation, told GPD Det. Jim Hoke that he was with the victim on the night of the offense; however, when confronted with the accusation of engaging in sexual intercourse with the victim, Henriquez never denied that the sexual intercourse occurred. Instead, Henriquez repeatedly told Det. Hoke that he was asleep and did not remember any sexual contact with the victim.

Following his conviction Henriquez is being held without bond at the Elkhart County Security Complex pending sentencing. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for October 1, 2015 at 9:00 a.m. in the Elkhart County Security Center. This case was handled by Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys Peter Britton and Katelan Doyle.

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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”