San Diego

The operator of an Ocean Beach arcade who also ran a Bible study class for adolescent boys pleaded no contest Tuesday to seven counts of performing lewd, lascivious acts with seven boys.

The plea by Ronnie Steckbauer, 34, came just after his case was assigned to San Diego Superior Court Judge William Howatt for trial.

Steckbauer faces a maximum sentence of 23 years in prison in a plea-bargain agreement. Howatt set sentencing for Aug. 31.

Thirty-four other child-molestation charges were dismissed, including failure to register with San Diego police as a convicted sex offender.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick Clabby said Steckbauer faced a maximum sentence of 85 to 90 years had he gone to trial and been convicted of every count.

In his plea, Steckbauer admitted he was convicted in 1976 of performing lewd acts on a child in Los Angeles County. That admission will add five years to the sentence.

Howatt ordered a psychological evaluation of Steckbauer before sentencing.

The 41 total counts represented alleged acts against 11 victims, all of whom were 11 to 13 years old at the time. The date of the earliest molestation was 1982, but most of the alleged acts took place in 1986 and 1987.

The boys testified in a May preliminary hearing that Steckbauer took them on trips and had slept with them on these trips. They said he took pictures of them when they didn’t have their shirts on.

“I think our whole philosophy of our child-abuse unit is to do justice and avoid trauma to the victims,” Clabby said. “And I think a 23-year state prison sentence is justice.”

Steckbauer recently married his girlfriend while in jail. He remains in custody in lieu of $400,000 bail.