A Kern County man who hosted the...
A Kern County man who hosted the “Deputy Howie” and “Engineer Howie” children’s television shows in Bakersfield during the late 1950s and early 1960s pleaded no contest to eight felony counts of lewd conduct with children. Kern County Assistant Dist. Atty. Bart Hagler said investigators had evidence of 26 incidents of molestation involving eight children, but agreed to let Howard H. Wines, 54, enter the plea on just eight charges in order to spare the children from testifying. Wines, also accused of having used his “special position of trust as a Sunday schoolteacher” to molest a child, could be sentenced to a total of 22 years, but Hagler said he will probably serve only four years. Sentencing was scheduled for June 17.
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