I-83 Assailant Receives 3 Years Probation

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to three years probation on Monday in connection with the assault of a woman following a car accident on near the York Road exit in Parkton.

Michael Henshaw, 30, of the 400 block of Old Stone Way in York, PA, was also sentenced to two years in jail with all but time served suspended and was ordered not to contact the victim.

At around 10 p.m. on July 29, with the woman. After the two parties pulled over, he pleaded with the victim not to call the police and offered her money to settle the incident, according to facts presented at the hearing.

When she refused, Henshaw pushed her to the ground and grabbed her phone away from her. As the woman attempted to flag down passing motorists, he pulled her away from the road. He said at the hearing that he did so to protect the woman from getting hit by a vehicle.

The victim was eventually able to break free from Henshaw and got into her vehicle and left the scene. Henshaw also fled the area but was

Henshaw, a construction worker, pleaded guilty to these events at a hearing in Baltimore County District Court before Judge Sally Chester.

He said in court that he because he was driving on a suspended license and was afraid of getting arrested. Henshaw added that he didn't want to be taken away from his then four-month-old daughter.

"I'm very remorseful," he said. "I don't think in any sort of way that my actions were the right thing to be done."

The victim was in the courthouse during the hearing, but declined to make a statement. Assistant Baltimore County State's Attorney Lauren Stone said the woman didn't want to relive the incident.

Prior to sentencing, Judge Chester admonished the defendant.

"You scared this girl to death," Chester said. "You're lucky she didn't have a gun."

The incident garnered national attention when CBS Baltimore posted a photograph of reporter Mike Hellgren, who covered the story, in an article next to an early police sketch of Henshaw, which showed a striking resemblance to the reporter.