Suspect in area girl's rape caught at Cleveland hospital

By PATRICIA MEADE
VINDICATOR CRIME REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- A man accused of raping and beating a 2-year-old girl was caught in Cleveland after being sought for more than two months by the FBI/Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force.
Ronald L. Henderson, 29, was arrested over the weekend at a Cleveland hospital, Youngstown Detective Sgt. John Elberty, a task force member, said Tuesday. Henderson, whose last known address was Parkview Avenue, was at the hospital -- under an assumed name -- for gallstone tests.
In mid-March, a Mahoning County grand jury indicted Henderson, charging him with rape, felonious assault and two counts of endangering children. At the same time, the little girl's mother, Genelle White, 24, was charged with endangering children. Her last known address was Dogwood Lane in Rockford Village on the East Side.
The cases are assigned to Judge Maureen A. Cronin in common pleas court. No trial date has been set.
It's unknown how soon Henderson, jailed in the Cleveland area, will return to Mahoning County. The transfer depends on cases pending in other jurisdictions and an extradition hearing.
Violent fugitive
In March and April, Henderson was featured in The Vindicator as the FBI/Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force fugitive of the week. Elberty said he passed information about the case on to the FBI's violent crimes task force in Cleveland.
Elberty said that, in the search for Henderson, more than 30 leads were investigated in Stow, Kent and Cleveland. During the hunt, a Cleveland detective developed leads that linked Henderson to robberies. He also faces a domestic violence charge in Stow, Elberty said.
The capture of Henderson was a "terrific collaborative effort" between the Cleveland Police Department and the two task forces, he said.
Mother interviewed
Police and a social worker were sent to Forum Health Tod Children's Hospital on Jan. 8 to interview the mother of a 2-year-old girl with numerous bruises. The child had bruises on her legs, abdomen and the bottoms of her feet.
Police learned that White's boyfriend, Henderson, had been in the Dogwood Lane home early Jan. 8. White told police that her child wouldn't eat breakfast and appeared cold and shaking.
Hospital staff discovered that little girl had internal injuries, including bleeding. She was transferred by helicopter to the children's hospital in Akron, where a rape examination was performed.
On Jan. 20, White told police that she had been receiving harassing and threatening phone calls from Henderson because he was implicated in the rape of her daughter.
Elberty said the last he knew, the child remained in the custody of Mahoning County Children Services Board.
meade@vindy.com