A former NBC medical correspondent pleaded no contest Monday to asking a 9-year-old girl for nude photos in 2019.
Bruce Hensel, now 74, was sentenced to two years of probation as part of a plea deal with Los Angeles prosecutors. He also had to immediately register as a sex offender.
Hensel got his start as the top TV doc at WNBC in New York before he moved to Los Angeles and worked for decades at KNBC. He won 11 Emmy Awards during his career.
In November 2019, Hensel was arrested in Southern California and charged with one felony count of contact with a minor for sexual purposes.
According to court documents, he messaged a friend’s 9-year-old daughter repeatedly between March and August of that year. He asked the girl multiple times for “sexy and private” photos.
“[We] have always been good special friends and you feel safe with me, so I will protect you and get you something,” Hensel wrote in one message, before discussing a potential movie for the girl to star in. “They could maybe make you a star if you are willing to take some risks.”
He apologized in court on Monday, telling the victim’s father he was “terribly sorry for what happened,” according to the Los Angeles Times.
On the original charge, Hensel faced a maximum of 18 months in prison. In the plea deal, he formally pleaded no contest to one count of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a crime.
Hensel’s attorneys and Los Angeles prosecutors bargained over the deal for months, the LA Times reported.
With News Wire Services
