UPDATE: (3:35 p.m. Wednesday) - Republican State representative Cody Henson announced on his Facebook page that he would resign his from his position in the General Assembly, just a day after he said he would not following a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge of cyberstalking.
Henson was in his second term in Raleigh, representing a district that includes Transylvania, Polk, and part of Henderson County. Earlier this year, he announced he would not seek re-election. His resignation is effective this Friday July 26th at noon. In his Facebook post announcing his resignation, Henson said, "it is evident that at this time I am needed at home to focus on my two beautiful children. They have been my whole world since they were born. Right now, I believe that what is best for my children is that I focus my attention on them." Henson repeated in the post that he was 'overly zealous' in trying to save his marriage to his now estranged wife Kelsey, who received text messages from her husband that prompted the cyberstalking charge.
(Written by Matt Bush of Blue Ridge Public Radio. An earlier version of the story written by the Associated Press is below)
BREVARD, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina state lawmaker is pleading guilty to cyberstalking his estranged wife, a misdemeanor that will be dismissed if he completes 18 months of probation.
Second-term Republican Rep. Cody Henson, who represents Transylvania, Polk and part of Henderson County, pleaded guilty on Tuesday. He said earlier he won't seek re-election next year and added Tuesday he won't resign now.
Henson must complete a domestic violence treatment class, mental health and substance misuse assessments, and any follow-up treatments. Henson must surrender any firearms and can't contact Kelsey Henson.
A judge earlier this year issued a protective order against Cody Henson after determining texts his wife received amounted to "mental harassment."
Henson says he was "overly zealous" and used the wrong methods to try keeping his family together.
