Henley avoids prison in nursing home guilty plea

The former owner of Sunset Gardens Assisted Living Facility originally charged with eight felonies struck a deal to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. On Sept. 14, Wendy Lee Henley, 49, pled guilty to one count of child endangerment while nine other charges, of which eight were felonies, were dismissed. This plea deal came two days before a scheduled jury trial. According to the court files, Henley was sentenced to 11 months and 29 days of probation, plus a $25 fine. After the probation, the sentence can be struck from the record. Court files note Henley took an Alford Plea, meaning Henley makes no admission of guilt. The Tennessee Department of Health's licensure database says Henley's residential/institutional home administrator license expired on June 30. Back in June 2024, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation special agents began investigating Henley, who owned Sunset Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Mountain City. During the investigation, agents learned and shared that Henley used a patient's insurance benefits card to buy items for the facility. In July, when TBI agents and Adult Protective Services visited the facility to speak with Henley, they discovered that seventeen residents, including two hospice patients, had been left in the care of two juveniles who were not authorized to provide direct patient care. In July 2024, Sunset Gardens abruptly closed, leaving its 18 residents abandoned. This came as Henley's nursing license was on probation for three years following an investigation by the Tennessee Department of Health for taking controlled substances and other medications home, claiming it was to prevent theft. At the time, Henley worked for Johnson County Schools. In March 2025, a grand jury charged Henley with two counts of identity theft, two counts of financial exploitation of the elderly or a vulnerable person, possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, two counts of possession of a Schedule IV controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, possession of a Schedule V controlled substance with intent to sell or deliver, two counts of child endangerment and reckless endangerment. The child endangerment charge, one of which Henley pled guilty to, came from leaving two children under the age of 18, at Sunset Garden charge of the facility, despite being unlicensed.