LOGAN — A 21-year-old North Logan charged with allegedly sexually assaulting several teenage girls and a boy while providing them drugs or alcohol is being bound over for trial. Payden H. Hendershot waived his rights to a preliminary hearing and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Hendershot participated in the virtual hearing in 1st District Court Monday afternoon, appearing by web conference from the Cache County Jail. He was previously charged with two counts of object rape and two counts of forcible sexual abuse, all first-degree felonies; and distribution of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony; and knowingly furnishing alcohol to a minor, a class A misdemeanor.
Public defender Joseph Saxton said he had met with Hendershot and they’d decided to waive their rights to the preliminary hearing, where a judge would have determined whether or not prosecutors had sufficient evidence to bind the suspect over for trial. He also entered not guilty pleas to all of the charges.
Hendershot was arrested in February after one of the alleged juvenile victims reported being sexually assaulted by Hendershot last summer. The suspect was a “friend of a friend” to the alleged victim.
As Cache County sheriff’s deputies began to investigate, they uncovered five additional teenage juveniles that also reported being victimized by Hendershot. The girls and boy described similar incidents of being forcibly raped or molested while trying to resist. Many indicated that the alleged crimes took place while they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and were unable to fight off the suspect.
Deputies interviewed Hendershot, who admitted to providing the teens with drugs or alcohol, but claimed the sexual activity was consensual. He also explained that most of the encounters occurred during times he was also intoxicated or under the influence of drugs. He claimed that he could not remember most of the details because he was “wasted, blacked out and messed up.”
During Monday’s hearing, Judge Brandon Maynard accepted Hendershot’s waiver of the hearing. He ordered the suspect to remain in jail and appear for a pretrial conference May 10.
Hendershot never spoke during the hearing. He could face up to life in prison if convicted.
Individuals arrested and charged in complaints are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.