Henry John Germain - Filthy Pedophile's sentence applauded

Henry John Germain closed his eyes in a Hayward courtroom as four women recounted the repercussions they face after being abused by him as children.

Moments later, with applause coming from the victims' families and friends, he was taken into custody to serve a 15-year sentence in state prison for child molestation.

The 62-year-old former tennis pro at Castlewood Country Club entered a no contest plea April 28 to three charges of sexually abusing children under the age of 14. Prior to that, Germain plead not guilty Jan. 9 to 16 charges of sex crimes against six female victims.

District Attorney Susan Torrance told the judge that this case was one of the most egregious she had seen, citing the length of time the alleged abuse had gone on and the number of victims. In addition to six victims with charges coming forward from the Pleasanton area, 10 women claimed they were molested when Germain was a tennis pro in the Palm Desert area in the early 80s.

"Cases like this can't be done without the brave victims coming forward," she said. "The victims are very brave and that's why we ended up with a good resolution."

Four women gave tear-filled victim statements to the court Wednesday, stating that their childhood innocence had been wrongfully taken away by Germain. One woman said that Germain has taken no ownership of his actions.

Another woman claimed Germain had abused her for three and a half years, beginning when she was 11 years old.

"He violently stole my youth and innocence," she said tearfully

The young woman said she didn't come forward earlier because he said no one would believe a young girl over an adult.

Germain, who did not speak at the sentencing, was originally arrested at the country club Sept. 2 after three victims wrote letters with molestation allegations to officials at the club. Shortly after, three more victims came forward and brought charges against him.

His bail was set at $1.08 million and he bailed out on a property bond, only to be arrested shortly after when a 16th charge was added. His bail increased to $1.4 million and he again bailed out on the same property bond.

Judge Kevin Murphy said Germain must serve 85 percent of his 15-year sentence. Once he's completed his prison time, the Dublin resident would be on parole for 10 years and must register as a sex offender, pay restitution to the six victims and stay away from the victims.