A Pike County man arrested more than a year ago on multiple charges was sentenced to nearly two decades in prison on Thursday in Pike County Circuit Court.
25-year old Dakota L. Henry of New Salem pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine less than 5 grams, violation of the sex offender registry, driving under the influence of drugs, failure to register an address change as a sex offender, and aggravated battery to a child under the age of 13.
Charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of narcotics, two counts of child endangerment, another count of violation of the sex offender registry, predatory criminal sexual assault of a minor, and aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor were all dismissed per the plea agreement.
The charges began accumulating in April 2023 with an initial drug possession arrest. Henry was arrested again in Pittsfield in June 2023 on the DUI, child endangerment, and more drug possession charges. The sexual abuse and assault charges were added after further investigation. The abuse and assault allegedly dated back to December 2022.
Henry was sentenced to a total of 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, up to 4 years of mandatory supervised release, and ordered to pay an undisclosed county fine. He was given credit for a total of 329 days served in the Pike County Jail.