SIMI VALLEY : No Contest Plea Given by Newsman
A former KNX radio newscaster accused of molesting a 13-year-old girl pleaded no contest to the charge Friday in Ventura County Superior Court.
Bruce G. Bernhart, 39, who had been an evening anchorman at the Los Angeles station, entered the plea to one count of child molestation, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Pachowicz.
The girl told Simi Valley police that the incident occurred while Bernhart was interviewing her for a baby-sitting job June 19 at his Simi Valley house.
She said Bernhart told her he wanted to play a game and then blindfolded her. While she was blindfolded, Bernhart touched the girl in a sexual manner, police said.
The girl, who was not injured or detained, went home and told her parents about the incident. She and her parents then filed a report with police, who arrested Bernhart in the middle of a newscast.
According to a station spokesman, Bernhart, who had worked for KNX for 10 years, resigned in July.
Bernhart, who faces a maximum of eight years in prison, will be sentenced Nov. 22.
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