LOS ANGLES — A 71-year-old Pacific Palisades man was charged today with asking a 9-year-old girl to send him sexually suggestive pictures.
Bruce Martin Hensel faces one felony count of contact with minor for sexual purposes.
Hensel, a doctor, is charged with requesting the images from the daughter of an acquaintance through a messaging app on or about Aug. 4, the prosecutor said.
Hensel is known for being the former chief medical correspondent for KNBC-TV. He won 11 Emmys and two Golden Mike awards for his work in Los Angeles media.
FREE SCREENING OF OUR FILM BEYOND THE OPPOSITE SEX@DIRECTORS GUILD 11AM SUNDAY July 15https://t.co/xzhNX0U727
— Dr. Bruce Hensel (@DrBruceHensel) July 7, 2018
If convicted as charged, Hensel faces a possible maximum sentence of 18 months in state prison.
His lawyer says he is “completely innocent of the charge.”