CA- D.A. Office: Investigator who was found dead learned charges against him via computer

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Sheriff's Department investigator accessed internal system moments before molestation case was sealed, officials say.
4-7-2008 California:

A sheriff's investigator who was found dead hours after molestation charges were filed against him Wednesday, learned of his pending arrest by accessing an internal computer system, authorities said today.

Officials at the District Attorney's Office believed that Orange County Sheriff's Department Investigator Gerald F. Stenger III, 41, would be at risk for committing suicide if he was charged in the investigation, and were going to seal the case.

But the 20-year-veteran, who lived in Aliso Viejo and wasn't married, found the complaint, which implicated him in the molestation of an 11-year-old boy, just minutes before it was filed in court and sealed, said Susan Schroeder, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

Meanwhile, authorities are still investigating whether information about Stenger's arrest was leaked to circles outside law enforcement even though the complaint had been sealed.

Without telling him he would be arrested, Stenger was told to report to Central Men's Jail in Santa Ana on Wednesday morning, where authorities expected to take him into custody safely, Schroeder said. Stenger faced a possible sentence of 18 years in prison for charges alleging that he molested a boy he befriended through a mentoring program more than 10 years ago.

Television news vans were parked outside of sheriff headquarters Wednesday at the time Stenger was expected to arrive and be taken into custody that morning, although sheriff's officials said they didn't know if they were there to cover Stenger's arrest.

Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, said he could not comment on whether he received media calls inquiring about Stenger's molestation charges before the deputy was found dead, because of an ongoing investigation looking at whether the information was leaked.

"If two deputy district attorneys were going to serve an arrest warrant on someone that was armed, it's not a good situation if the media was tipped off," Amormino said.

Before an arrest could be made, Stenger was found with a single gunshot wound to the head at about 2 p.m. Wednesday, slumped over in the driver's seat of his department-issued Ford Crown Victoria parked in an Aliso Viejo shopping center.

The District Attorney's Office, which is handling the case, is investigating the shooting, including the possibility that Stenger committed suicide.

Authorities now believe Stenger discovered the complaint before it was sealed in court by accessing a computer system available to the District Attorney's Office and some personnel at the Sheriff's Department.

"It wasn't like someone leaked information to him in any way," Schroeder said.

The computer software, referred to as the Case Management System, is used by officials at the District Attorney's Office to work on pending complaints and warrants, Schroeder said. For law enforcement needs, some personnel at the Sheriff's Department also have access to the system.

Stenger, who was promoted to investigator in August 2007, had access, Schroeder said.

Stenger accessed the system more than 400 times to check the pending investigation and whether charges were filed against him, Schroeder said.

"In the last few weeks, he kept hitting it to see if he was charged," Schroeder said. "We could see what cases he reviewed and the only case he reviewed was his own."

According to the complaint, prosecutors allege that Stenger began abusing an 11-year-old boy in 1994 after meeting him through a mentoring program. The abuse, according to the complaint, continued for three years in the boy's home.

The case first came to light Oct. 26, 2007, when it was reported to the Sheriff's Department. The District Attorney's Office continued the investigation and the Sheriff's Department conducted an internal investigation of Stenger, authorities said.

Stenger was aware of the six-month investigation, Schroeder said.

On Wednesday morning, officials at the District Attorney's Office used the software to type up the complaint. From his work computer, Stenger accessed the file and viewed the complaint at about 9:40 a.m., Schroeder said.

The complaint was not filed in court until 10:30 a.m., where it also was sealed in an effort to make an arrest. ..more.. by SALVADOR HERNANDEZ