PUTNAM COUNTY, FL (352today.com) — In a first-of-its-kind move under a new Florida law, State Attorney R.J. Larizza has filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty in a capital sexual battery case involving two young victims.
The defendant, Dimeco Henderson, was indicted by a Putnam County grand jury last month on two counts of sexual battery on a victim under 12 and one count of lewd or lascivious battery on a victim under 16. He is accused of sexually abusing the two child victims over a period of three years.
“This is the first time our office has filed this notice in a Capital Sexual Battery case since Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a new law allowing a jury to recommend a death sentence for the crime,” the State Attorney’s Office said.
Florida’s updated law, signed in 2023, allows prosecutors to pursue capital punishment in cases of sexual battery against children under 12, even if the crime did not result in a death. The law has drawn national attention and is expected to face legal scrutiny as it conflicts with previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
In announcing the state’s intent, Larizza described the allegations against Henderson as deeply disturbing.
“The defendant is a serial pedophile who previously raped and/or assaulted two child victims,” Larizza said. “The sentences for those earlier crimes were woefully inadequate – and he has struck again – raping a 10-year-old autistic child and her best friend. As long as the defendant breathes, he will rape vulnerable and innocent children. It is time for him to go.”
The case was investigated by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorneys Mark Lewis and Deb Rothenberg are assigned as prosecutors.
If the court allows the death penalty to be pursued, Henderson would be the first person in Florida to face a capital sentence under the state’s new sexual battery statute.