Man Sentenced in Cyberspace Sex Case

The county’s first cyberspace sex case ended this week with an Oak View man being sentenced to four years in state prison for trying to buy sex with a fictitious 13-year-old girl over the Internet.

David P. Hensley 37, was originally charged with five criminal counts but pleaded guilty in October to attempted child molestation and pandering.

“‘I think it’s a very fair sentence, a very harsh sentence for someone like Mr. Hensley who has had little contact with law enforcement,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Ed Ulloa said Thursday.

The remaining counts were dropped at sentencing Wednesday.

Hensley, a former Newbury Park publishing company employee, had faced up to nine years in prison. Despite having no criminal record, probation was not an option because pandering carries a mandatory prison term.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies began investigating Hensley when he responded to a personal ad posted by authorities on America Online that offered sex with minors.

After months of e-mail and telephone conversations with an undercover investigator, Hensley agree to pay $350 to perform various sex acts with a fictitious girl.

“He indicated in his e-mail communication with detectives that he would accept a child for sex as young 8 years old,” Ulloa said.

Hensley made the transaction at a Camarillo restaurant and was arrested immediately afterward at a nearby hotel room where he was told the girl would be waiting.

In an interview with deputies, Hensley claimed he was simply trying to find out if the deal was for real, and had planned to notify authorities. At the time of his arrest, however, Hensley was carrying two condoms, deputies said.