Crime & Safety
Alleged Library Masturbator on Trial Today
The registered sex offender is accused of masturbating in front of teen girls.
A senior citizen accused of masturbating in front of two teenage girls at a local library goes on trial Wednesday afternoon, according to the Orange County district attorney's office.
Mission Viejo resident Robert Bruce Engel was 67 when he allegedly put a newspaper across his lap at the Rancho Santa Margarita Library, unzipped his pants and masturbated while sitting across from the girls.
He was charged in May 2011 and later pleaded not guilty.
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Engel is a registered sex offender, according to the D.A., but a search for his name on California's Megan's Law website didn't yield any results.
In 2002, Engel was found guilty of indecent exposure in Laguna Niguel and sentenced to three years in state prison.
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He was also charged with a misdemeanor failure to provide registration information in February. Engel pleaded not guilty. Trial for that charge is scheduled for Oct. 25.
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