Henderson kidnapper sentenced to 30 years in prison

A federal judge heard emotional statements from the parents of a 7-year-old victim Friday before sentencing the girl's kidnapper to 30 years in prison.

In a quivering voice, Henderson resident Kathy Hartshorn described dropping to the floor, screaming and crying, when she received the news about her daughter on March 26, 2011. And she expressed regret that her 2-year-old son saw her lose control that day.

When Matthew Hayward kidnapped her daughter, he also took the girl's security, confidence "and most of all - her innocence," Hartshorn said.

Although her daughter is now "physically safe," the woman explained, the child is emotionally scarred for life.

"I just know in my heart that is something she'll never forget," Hartshorn said after the hearing.

Kayley Proctor was found shortly after Henderson police issued an Amber Alert in the case.

Hayward, 29, pleaded guilty to the kidnapping in February. He also pleaded guilty to related carjacking and child pornography charges.

As part of the plea agreement, the parties agreed to recommend the 30-year prison term, which Senior U.S. District Judge Roger Hunt imposed. The judge also ordered lifetime supervision for Hayward, who must register as a sex offender.

At the defendant's request, Hunt recommended that officials assign him to a prison near South Carolina, where he has family.

Assistant Federal Public Defender Rebecca Rosenstein told the judge her client had been in custody since he was 16 and "struggled in living outside of an institution."

"This offense appears to be his way of going back into custody," she said.

Rosenstein said her client had shown "great remorse" since she began representing him. "It was pretty clear from the beginning that he was going to accept responsibility," she said.

Hayward, standing beside her, told Hunt that everything his lawyer had just said was true. "I can't cope on the outside," the defendant said.

Hayward then turned to the victim's family and said, "I really do seriously - I apologize."

Moments earlier, the victim's father had addressed the judge, saying no amount of prison time could erase Hayward's actions.

"This man has been doing criminal acts his whole life," Josh Proctor added. "He's never going to change."

He then turned and pointed at Hayward, shouting "you're an (expletive) coward" before storming out of the courtroom. He returned a short time later.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Smith Jr. told Hunt "the heinousness of these crimes cannot be understated."

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Hayward in April 2011 that accused him of kidnapping the Henderson girl and a Las Vegas cabdriver. It also accused him of producing child pornography Feb. 22, 2011, with an 8-year-old girl.

Hayward was arrested on unrelated charges near Flagstaff, Ariz., on March 27, 2011, a day after Kayley was taken from the Allegro Apartments, 951 Las Palmas Entrada Ave., in Henderson.

The girl was taken to Barstow, Calif., in a hijacked taxicab before she and the cabdriver were released unharmed. Hayward held a knife to the cabdriver's side during the carjacking, and Kayley was gagged with a bandana during the ordeal.

According to court records, a man called Henderson police March 26, 2011, to report his daughter missing. He suspected that Hayward, his girlfriend's cousin and roommate, had taken the child.

Authorities later discovered a pornographic picture of an 8-year-old girl on Hayward's cellphone, recovered from a backpack he had dropped in Barstow.

"He obviously is a career criminal, and that's his life," Hunt said Friday, after reviewing the defendant's criminal record, which included a string of burglaries and a history of violence.

Kayley's parents had nothing but praise for prosecutors, especially Smith.

"Phillip approached this as a father - not as a prosecutor," Josh Proctor said.

The Henderson man is now married to the woman who was his girlfriend when the crime occurred.

He said he had spent a few weeks around Hayward and knew he had been in trouble before. But the father did not know the extent of Hayward's problems.

Hartshorn, who came to court Friday with her husband, said she had met Hayward two or three times and considered him both "polite" and "pleasant." She knew nothing about his criminal history.

She said she did not tell Kayley, who is now 8, that Hayward was being sentenced Friday. The woman wanted to know the outcome first.

In the near future, the mother of three plans to tell Kayley that Hayward can never hurt her again.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.