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October 31, 2004
N.C. minister pleads guilty in high-profile abuse case
A former Lincoln County minister who was hospitalized after his daughters accused him of molestation on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" pleaded guilty Thursday to six counts of taking indecent liberties with a child.
Ted Eugene Hendrix, 66, was sentenced by Yadkin County Superior Court Judge William Z. Wood to 36 years in prison, according to court clerk Wayne Dixon.
Hendrix was immediately taken to the Yadkin County Jail for processing before being transferred to the state prison system in Raleigh. His trial had been delayed several days because Hendrix was hospitalized after he collapsed.
Hendrix could have faced life in prison if convicted of the original charges of second-degree rape, incest, second-degree sexual offense and crime against nature.
Hendrix was arrested in March after one of his daughters reported the abuse to authorities. The three women told Winfrey their father abused them almost daily for about a decade.
Amy Harrison, 39, and her two sisters told Winfrey that their father sexually abused them nearly every day for about 10 years. One said he raped her on the church altar and then gave her communion.
Hendrix did not appear on the show and it's unclear whether he watched it when it was aired last week. Hendrix's wife called 911 on Friday. It was unclear what caused his collapse, but Hendrix has emphysema and uses oxygen, according to friends.
Posted by Nealus at October 31, 2004 01:32 PM
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