Longtime medical correspondent arrested on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to commit sexual acts
By Sam Catanzaro
Dr. Bruce M. Hensel, the former KNBC medical correspondent, was arrested Wednesday morning at his Pacific Palisades home for asking a 9-year-old girl to send him sexually suggestive pictures, according to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The 71-year-old Hensel was brought into custody on suspicion of contacting a minor with the intent to commit sexual acts at 10:15 a.m. by LAPD Juvenile Division investigators, said spokesperson for the department. Hensel is being held on $5,000 bail.
According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, Hensel is charged with requesting the images from the daughter of an acquaintance through a messaging app on or about August 4.
If convicted as charged, Hensel faces a possible maximum sentence of 18 months in state prison.
On October 16, the Los Angeles Regional Internet Crime Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Hensel’s Palisades and removed items from the hillside house as part of the investigation, according to the LAPD.
Further details about the case were not immediately released.
Hensel served as a medical correspondent for KNBC in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years winning multiple Emmys for his reporting in addition to honors from medical organizations. In 2018 Hansel co-directed and produced a Showtime documentary about transgender relationships called “Beyond the Opposite Sex.”
