Bruce Hensel, Ex-NBC Correspondent, Arrested for Asking 9 Year Old for Sexual Photos
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – Former NBC medical correspondent and Emmy award winner has been arrested for allegedly asking a 9-year-old girl to send him sexually explicit photos of herself.
On Wednesday, 71-year-old Dr. Bruce Hensel was charged with asking a friend’s 9-year-old daughter for sexual photos back in August via a messaging app, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Hensel used to work as an on-air medical correspondent for NBC Los Angeles and New York. Hensel now faces one felony count of contacting a minor for sexual purposes.
An investigation into Hensel was launched by the Los Angeles Police Department after they discovered he and the girl had shared inappropriate photos and messages. On October 16, police searched Hensel’s home in Pacific Palisades with a search warrant.
Bruce Hensel was booked into the LAPD’s Metropolitan Detention Center and his bail amount was set at $5,000. Hensel is expected to be arraigned at a later date. If Hensel is convicted, he faces up to an 18-month prison sentence.
The arrest was surprising to Hensel’s lawyer, Steve Sitkoff.
“We are cooperating fully with the authorities and we are looking forward to a speedy and complete exoneration,” Attorney Sitkoff said to NBC4 Los Angeles.
Hensel joined NBC4 back in 1987, and he is board-certified in emergency and internal medicine. Hensel was the executive producer last year on Showtime’s “Beyond the Opposite Sex” show.
