Gwinnett County Police Department
Michael “Mikey” Henderson, a 32-year-old Math teacher and former University of Georgia football star, has been charged with engaging in a two-year sexual relationship with a female student at Parkview High School in Gwinnett County, Georgia. He was arrested May 19 and charged with sexual assault involving a student beginning when she was 16 years old.
What Happened?
Henderson resigned from his positions as a math teacher and assistant football coach at the Lilburn school, where he had worked since 2013, on the day of his arrest.
Gwinnett County police officer R.A. Herndon said that Henderson initially denied the allegations when first questioned but later confessed. On Wednesday, Herndon testified about the details of the case during Henderson’s bond hearing, which was attended by dozens of colleagues, family and friends who wanted to show support, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.
According to a police report, authorities were first notified about the relationship when three friends of the victim’s, who is now 18, alerted school officials after she had told them about the affair over lunch one afternoon. The secret sexual relationship allegedly started in September 2015 and continued until May 2017 and involved between 20 and 30 encounters before, during and after school hours.
Herndon told the court that Henderson first met the student when she was in his tenth-grade geometry class. Eventually, the two began exchanging messages on Snapchat that included nude photos. Their first physically sexual encounter came in August 2015, with Henderson saying he “felt trapped” afterward, according to Herndon.
The 32-year-old former college football star said the teenager performed oral sex on him in various locations around campus, including an athletics press box, a closet, a media classroom and an office. The teacher did not perform any sexual acts of the student, he said, but told her in an email they could have sexual intercourse after she graduated from high school.
CBS46 reported that Henderson posted $27,700 bond on Wednesday and was released from jail. He was ordered to stay away from all Gwinnett County schools and prohibited from contacting the victim and the friends to whom she had revealed the affair.
Henderson was a wide receiver for the University of Georgia’s Bulldogs from 2003 to 2007 and is best known for catching the game-winning touchdown pass to beat Alabama in 2007, according to 11Alive.
Parkview High School
Parkview High School is a public high school located near Lilburn in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. It is operated by Gwinnett County Public Schools.
