Accused O.C. deputy found shot to death
An on-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy who was found dead Wednesday afternoon had been charged earlier in the day with molesting a 12-year-old boy he met through a child mentoring program, authorities said Thursday.
Gerald Stenger, 41, was found at 2 p.m. in the driver’s seat of an unmarked patrol car with a gunshot wound to the head, said Orange County district attorney spokeswoman Susan Kang Schroeder. The car was found in an Aliso Viejo parking structure, not far from Stenger’s home.
Believing that Stenger might be suicidal, authorities had taken steps to keep the criminal charges confidential until he could be safely apprehended. Investigators said they now want to know whether he had learned of his pending arrest.
The veteran deputy was charged Wednesday morning with molesting a 12-year-old boy. Authorities said Stenger met the youth through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orange County, which matches young boys and girls with adults. He would have faced a maximum sentence of 18 years in prison if convicted.
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my-thuan.tran@latimes.com
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