A former CHP officer was convicted of lewd conduct for attempting to engage in a sexual relationship with a young girl he believed to be 13-years-old. The former CHP officer was arrested on February 18, 2006, as part of a police sting operation set up by Perverted-Justice.com which is a non-profit group that targets pedophiles and tries to protect children from sexual predators on the Internet.
Today, a Santa Ana jury found former CHP lieutenant Stephen Robert Deck, 54, guilty of attempted lewd act upon a child that he believed to be a 13-year-old girl he met by chatting with her on the internet. The “girl” was, in fact, an undercover police officer waiting for the former CHP officer to arrive at the Laguna Beach park where the two had planned to meet.
At trial, Orange County District Attorney Robert Mestman argued that Stephen Deck intended on having sex with a young girl that day as he got into his car and drove 45 minutes to meet the the girl equipped with a video camera, a piece of key lime pie and condoms. However, Stephen Deck’s criminal defense lawyer relied on the fact that his client insisted on meeting in a public park as evidence that Deck did not have a definite and unambiguous intent to have a sexual relationship with the girl.
In the end, the jury agreed with the prosecution and found the former CHP officer guilty of lewd conduct. Stephen Deck, who retired from the CHP after his arrest, faces a maximum prison sentence of four years when he is sentenced in Orange County Superior Court on January 22.
Source and Image: The Orange County Register
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