SIMI VALLEY : Ex-Newscaster Gets Jail in Molestation

A former newscaster for KNX Radio in Los Angeles was sentenced to 90 days in jail Friday for molesting a 13-year-old baby-sitter.

Bruce Bernhart, 39, of Simi Valley had pleaded no contest to one count of child molestation in August. Investigators said that on June 19, Bernhart blindfolded the girl on the pretext of playing a game, then put her hand on his penis. He was arrested that evening during his broadcast at the radio station.

Bernhart’s attorney, Jay L. Lichtman, asked Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch not to impose jail time. He said Bernhart, who resigned after his arrest, “has lost his career” and might suffer psychological damage from incarceration.

“The thought of him in a jail-type environment--it could be devastating,” Lichtman said, adding that a jail term would also interfere with treatment Bernhart is undergoing with two therapists.

“He wants to resolve these deep-seated problems that have plagued him for many years,” Lichtman said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Richard Pachowicz said Bernhart’s criminal case has had “an appropriate effect on his career.” He agreed that Bernhart, who faced a maximum sentence of eight years in prison, did not deserve a prison sentence, but he asked for 180 days in the County Jail.

Storch decided on the 90-day term recommended by a probation investigator. He acknowledged that Bernhart had fallen from “the height of his profession,” but said the probation investigator had taken that into account. Without that factor, the judge said, the recommendation probably would have been six to nine months.

“You can’t just say you’re sorry and that’s the end of it,” the judge said. Bernhart sat with his head bowed during most of the proceeding. His wife and father were in the audience.

The victim’s father, who also attended the sentencing, said he was satisfied with the 90-day term. “You always want more,” the father said. “But he’s in therapy, so I think it’s fair.”

His daughter also is undergoing therapy, the father said, and is “not doing too well.” He said the girl’s grades have fallen at school and she is afraid to be around men.

Over Pachowicz’s objection, Storch allowed Bernhart to postpone serving the jail term until after the Christmas holidays. He was ordered to report to jail on Jan. 6.