Former chiropractor Henshaw sentenced to six months in jail for aggravated assault
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ROGERS CITY -- Dr. Clifford Henshaw, formerly of Henshaw Chiropractic, was sentenced to 180 days in jail with 24 months probation for a charge of aggravated assault on Tuesday in the 89th District Court in Presque Isle County.
At a plea hearing on Sept. 8 in the 89th District Court, he pleaded no contest to that charge, which is a misdemeanor.
Henshaw was arrested on Dec. 19 according to a Dec. 22 press release from the Rogers City Police Department after a female reported in November that she was the alleged victim of inappropriate contact during a chiropractic appointment with Henshaw.
Henshaw was ultimately charged with six counts of fourth degree criminal sexual conduct (CSC) involving that individual and a second individual. Each brought forward three charges.
Preliminary examinations were held for each individual, one in April and one in June.
Henshaw was bound over to the 53rd Circuit Court on two of the three CSC charges in April after Judge Michael Ekdahl combined two of the original charges. He was bound over on the other three charges of fourth degree CSC in June.
Henshaw accepted the plea deal on Sept. 8, pleading no contest to one misdemeanor in the District Court. The five CSC charges were dismissed. Misdemeanor charges are handled by the District Court, while felony charges are handled by the Circuit Court.
Pleading no contest means that a defendant accepts the conviction and punishment but is not formally admitting guilt.
As part of the plea deal, Henshaw has also given up his chiropractic license and practice and will not apply for a new license.
Defense Attorney Brian Prain opened his arguments by discussing a conversation had in chambers with Presque Isle County Prosecuting Attorney Zakary McLennan.
When having a discussion in chambers, two opposing parties in a case discuss matters with the judge off the record.
Prain said that a retired law enforcement officer had come forward to share information that could have been beneficial to Henshaw's case.
"It would require additional development and time in order to realize what the potential benefits of that may have been," Prain said.
He said Henshaw is in favor of moving forward with the sentencing, even in light of the new information, instead of moving in the direction of a plea withdrawal or adjournment of the sentencing.
McLennan said the People's position is to move forward with sentencing as well.
Prain asked the court to honor the sentence agreement for six months in jail. He argued that no probation is necessary.
He said that Henshaw has already given up his practice and his livelihood as part of the plea agreement, and probation would be an obstacle to finding a job.
"That's a 40 year career, so that is a significant concession," Prain said. "He's not going to be practicing in the field of chiropractic services again, obviously. So when he's released from his term, he wants to hit the ground running, and we want to make him employable as soon as humanly possible."
Henshaw was given the chance to make his own statement. He addressed Judge Ekdahl, saying he moved to Michigan with the hope of establishing a chiropractic practice to bring a new concept to the area.
"I recognize now more than ever that the nature of my different style of treatment requires particularly careful communication, explanation, and attention to each patient's expectations, comfort, and understanding," Henshaw said.
He became emotional and paused for a moment.
"I never intended for my treatment to cause anyone fear, discomfort, or distress," Henshaw said, overcome with emotion.
He concluded by saying he respects the seriousness of the proceedings and hopes that everyone involved finds peace.
Both of the individuals gave victim impact statements.The News does not name the names of victims of assault.
"I'm here to see that you get your just punishment for taking advantage of patients that have been in your office," one victim said. "You preyed on their trust."
She said that the prosecutor has statements from other women that have allegedly been assaulted by Henshaw, so this is not a one time thing.
The second victim in her impact statement said that Henshaw's office was not the first place she has experienced inappropriate sexual touching. She was sexually abused at five-years old by a family member.
"Those experiences have affected the way I have seen myself for much of my life," she said. "I have carried feelings of being dirty, unattractive, and unworthy of a man's love or respect."
She expressed her fear and humiliation at being touched inappropriately by someone she had gone to for professional care and whom she should have been able to trust.
The victim said that it was difficult to report what Henshaw had done and painful to relive the incident on the witness stand. She continued with the process to let other women affected by sexual assault know that what happened to them matters.
"Perhaps by standing up now, another person who was frightened to speak will understand that her voice matters too," she said.
Mclennan stated that Henshaw has prior criminal records from 1987, where he was charged with aggravated assault in Georgia, although he does not know what the conviction ended up being. Henshaw had a 12 month probation period and 100 hours of community service.
Henshaw was charged with fourth degree CSC in 2005 in Michigan, but that case was dismissed.
In 2009 in North Carolina, similar allegations were made against Henshaw by a patient. That case was pleaded down to assault on a female and charged as a sexual battery.
There were licensing implications on Henshaw's license from that case.
"There's a pattern, a track record here that's developing," McLennan said.
Henshaw has never faced incarceration previously for those actions, according to McLennan.
He argued that Henshaw should receive a term of probation as well.
"These were members of our community, your honor, that were preyed upon and victimized, and supervision is important in that aspect," McLennan said.
He confirmed that other victims had come forward, although no other charges have been filed.
After Prain raised an objection, Judge Ekdahl said he would not consider the uncharged allegations in sentencing.
"I remember both of you testifying and how tough that was," Ekdahl said. "That's not lost on this court. And as an end result, this man's no longer going to be practicing chiropractic medicine, so your efforts will not go without consequence here."
Ekdahl said that Henshaw had utilized an environment of treatment and care as a platform to prey upon women.
"One of them is particularly fragile, having been involved in something like this earlier in her life, and it’s just, I don’t know if I have the words to describe how bad this type of conduct is," Ekdahl said.
"I would give you every single day of jail that I could," he said. "If I do that though, if I exceed the sentence agreement that triggers your right to withdraw the plea, and we're back to square one."
The maximum jail sentence that Henshaw could receive for a charge of aggravated assault is one year.
Henshaw was ultimately sentenced to 180 days in jail with credit for one day served and 24 months probation. He cannot come into contact with the two victims.