Dr. Bruce Hensel, an Emmy-winning former television medical correspondent for KNBC, was charged Wednesday on suspicion of contacting a minor with intent to commit sexual acts, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Hensel faces one felony count of contact with a minor for sexual purposes, Deputy District Attorney Angela Brunson of the Cyber Crime Division said. If convicted as charged, the former NBC LA fixture faces a possible maximum sentence of 18 months in state prison.
Hensel, 71, was detained about 10:15 a.m. by Los Angeles Police Department Juvenile Division investigators. Hensel was booked around noon and held on $5,000 bail, according to jail records.
Investigators with the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crime Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Hensel’s Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 16. The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department, Juvenile Division Internet Crimes Against Children Regional Task Force.
Hensel won multiple Emmy Awards as a chief medical correspondent for NBC4 and recently produced and directed a Showtime documentary titled “Beyond the Opposite Sex,” focused on transgender relationships.
Arraignment for Hansel will be scheduled at a later date.