CLEARLAKE — Last month a Clearlake man pleaded guilty to one count of continuous sexual abuse of a child, ending nearly a decade of sexual abuse for the young victim.
Richard Alan Headrick, 55, of Clearlake was sentenced to 16 years in state prison for his crimes by Judge Stephen O. Hedstrom in Department 4 Superior Court in Clearlake on Tuesday, according to Deputy District Attorney Ed Borg.
Headrick was represented by Jacob Zamora. The case was prosecuted by Borg.
Because Headrick”s crime is considered a violent felony under the state penal code, Headrick will have to serve 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Headrick will be required to register as a sex offender and will be subject to parole supervision for 20 years.
Clearlake Police Department (CPD) Detective Tim Alvarado and Sgt. Tom Clements led the investigation of Headrick. They discovered Headrick lived in a home that belonged to a relative of the girl victim, where she regularly stayed after school.
CPD disclosed Headrick began sexually abusing the victim when she was 5 years old. The molestation continued for seven years and ended only when the victim became old enough to stay at her own home after school. The victim did not disclose the abuse for approximately two years.
In late May, the victim told her mother that Headrick had molested her and the mother immediately contacted CPD. Shortly afterward, Headrick, who had been made aware of the investigation by family members, voluntarily came to CPD headquarters and made a full confession to Sgt. Clements.
In selecting the maximum term, Hedstrom found that this case was aggravated by several circumstances, including that the abuse continued regularly for seven years and included substantial sexual conduct, that the victim was particularly vulnerable because of her age at the time the molestation began and that there had been significant emotional injury to the victim and her family.
The victim and her family are receiving services through the Lake County District Attorney”s Victim-Witness Division. DA investigator Denise Hinchcliff also participated in the investigation.
Borg said the DA”s Office commended the courage of the victim in this case for coming forward and disclosing the abuse, which made it possible for Headrick to be prosecuted and convicted.
