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Hengstebeck to become registered sex offender
By: Carin Enovijas
Description: Former corrections officer accepts plea
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Posted by editor
Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
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On April 19, former Tehachapi corrections officer Peter Hengstebeck, 51, accepted a plea bargain that will require him to register as a known sex offender for the remainder of his life, in addition to stipulating to a six-year sentence.
Hengstebeck will be formally sentenced on June 19 at the Metropolitan Division of Kern County Superior Court.
Originally charged with four counts of child molestation, Hengstebeck surprised Deputy District Attorney John Lua by accepting the plea, which carries a felony conviction for one count of child molestation.
“I didn’t think he would take a plea because he’s a corrections officer. I was more than willing to go to trial because I believe he did it,” Lua said.
According to Lua, the victims and their families, who are related to Hengstebeck by marriage, said their No. 1 priority was that Hengstebeck would have to register as a sex offender for life, as required by the state of California under Megan’s Law.
Lua said that sentencing laws for the time period during which Hengstebeck committed a majority of his crimes could have netted him as little as 12 years of prison time, if convicted on all counts.
Lua explained that actual time served is partially based on the class of the crime(s) committed; however, the plea bargain will ensure that Hengstebeck serves no less than 85 percent of the six-year sentence.
Under California’s Three Strikes Law, the felony child molestation conviction carries with it one strike, defined as a serious or violent felony. Lua said that if an individual with one strike were to receive a conviction for violation of the sex offender registration laws, it would carry a six-year penalty.
According to CCI Tehachapi’s Public Information Officer Sgt. Mike Coghlan, Hengstebeck was separated from service with the prison at the time he entered his plea.
An Internet search performed on June 8 resulted in 22 registered sex offenders reporting residence in the 93561 area code. This included the areas of Alpine Forest, Bear Valley Springs, Golden Hills, Monolith, Sand Canyon, Stallion Springs, Tehachapi and CCI Tehachapi. The free search was performed at https://www.nationalalertregistry.com.
On March 5, 2003, the Supreme Court ruled that information about registered sex offenders may be posted on the Internet.