Bruce Tebo attempted to meet what he thought was a 13-year-old
girl
San Martin – Internet sex predator Bruce Randal Tebo was sentenced to 18 months in state prison for attempting to have sex with what he thought was a teen-age girl he met online.
Tebo, 45, traveled about 300 miles to have sex with what he believed was a 13-year-old Gilroy girl who turned out to be Gilroy Police Detective Mitch Madruga’s Internet alias. Tebo was convicted on charges of attempting to commit lewd acts with a child younger than 14.
Defense attorney Jim Blatt asked the court to show leniency in the sentencing, explaining that Tebo has no prior record or history of committing this type of crime.
“It’s a situation that based on his personality, his lack of self-esteem, that he was particularly vulnerable,” Blatt told the courtroom. “Although there is a potential victim, there is no victim. He does not have any proclivity in this type of area.”
Blatt asked Superior Court Judge Hugh F. Mullin III to instead consider handing down five years probation.
But the evidence collected by Gilroy police and the planning involved in the sexual tryst was enough for Mullin to believe Tebo posed a danger to society and he sentenced him to serve 18 months in state prison followed by three years parole. Tebo must register as a sex offender upon release.
“There was a lot of planning involved in this. This was not a spur of the moment thing,” Mullin said at the Santa Clara County Superior Courthouse Monday morning. “Based on what (police) found in the defendant’s home this is the beginning of a series of events that would be extremely dangerous.”
Gilroy police arrested Tebo at Christmas Hill Park June 3, 2005 after Madruga organized a sting operation, bringing Tebo nearly 300 miles from his home in Rosamond to a hotel room at the Hilton Garden Inn where police discovered a duffel bag containing condoms, lubricants, and vibrators.
For eight months Tebo contacted Madruga, using sexually explicit language and performing a completely nude masturbation show to the fictional teen.
Madruga and Anti-Crime Team investigators drove down to his home in Rosamond to confiscate his computer as evidence. Police found post-it notes all over Tebo’s house containing e-mail addresses and names.
When Tebo arrived at Christmas Hill Park the night of June 3, officers were waiting for him as he slowly cruised the parking lot looking for the girl. Madruga then received a text message from Tebo questioning whether he was involved with law enforcement.
While making statements to police, Tebo ended up writing an apology letter to the (fictional) mother, apologizing for talking with her daughter, police said.
“He pursued the relationship for over eight months before the police responded. This was not something that was just an accident,” District Attorney Troy Bentson said. “For over eight months he attempted to communicate with a young girl … Beyond the sex toys that the defendant brought and that fact that he traveled 300 miles … I believe that a prison sentence is important.”
