Reporter Receives Probation in Sex Case
A Los Angeles Times reporter was placed on three years probation Wednesday after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge of oral copulation with a minor under 18.
Sam Enriquez, 35, of Northridge was ordered to undergo counseling as a condition of probation. No fine or suspended sentence was imposed by Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz of Van Nuys Superior Court.
Enriquez was originally charged with felony oral copulation with a person under 14 years old.
The charge to which he pleaded guilty can be either a felony or misdemeanor. Stoltz declared it a misdemeanor, with a maximum possible sentence of a year in jail.
Enriquez was arrested July 11 in Van Nuys after plainclothes detectives watched him pick up a 13-year-old suspected prostitute at a bus stop, then engage in oral sex with her in his car, according to the arrest report.
Enriquez had been free on $30,000 bail since the incident. He has been on leave from his job with The Times.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
