Former LAPD spokesman is indicted on sex charges
Former Los Angeles police spokesman Roderick “Rod” Bernsen was indicted Thursday on two felony counts of “abusive sexual contact” stemming from an alleged incident with two 12-year-old boys in a cruise ship sauna.
Bernsen, 58, also a former Fox 11 news reporter, was arrested Oct. 7 after the boys told the FBI that he had tried to talk with them about sex and then touched one boy’s penis with his toe and spanked another’s bare buttocks, according to an affidavit.
If convicted, he faces up to two years in prison, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney said.
Bernsen’s attorney, Alan Rubin, said his client was innocent. “He is a good guy, a decent guy, and he will defend against these charges,” he said.
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