PALO ALTO — A member of the Palo Alto Stormwater Management Oversight Committee is facing a litany of criminal charges stemming from an online child exploitation investigation, according to authorities.
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The suspect — identified as Robert K. Wenzlau, 67, of Palo Alto — was arrested Thursday at his home in Palo Alto, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release.
Police said Wenzlau first came to their attention on March 5, when authorities in Georgia told them a man had used a “mobile anonymous communications app” to correspond with an undercover officer posing as a 12-year-old girl.
The man, who claimed to be 55 years old, provided his cell phone number and used it to first send photos of himself and then child sexual abuse material to the officer, police said.
Police did not release the name of the mobile app, citing the ongoing investigation.
Palo Alto detectives identified the owner of the cell phone number and determined it was the same person who had corresponded with the undercover officer in Georgia, police said. They also determined he was a 67-year-old resident of Palo Alto.
Police said detectives then made their own account on the mobile app, posing as a 12-year-old girl. Four days later, Wenzlau messaged it and started corresponding with an undercover detective, according to police.
Wenzlau provided the same phone number and sent pictures of himself to the detective, police said, adding that he went on to solicit the detective for explicit images, sent child sexual abuse material to the detective and made arrangements to meet them in person with the intent to perform sex acts. The meeting did not take place.
Detectives presented the case to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, which charged Wenzlau with four felonies: contacting a minor with the intent to commit a sex offense, attempted lewd act on a child under 14, possession of child pornography and transmitting harmful material to a person believed to be a minor.
Wenzlau was also charged with arranging a meeting with a minor to engage in lewd behavior, a misdemeanor.
A judge issued a warrant for his arrest on Monday.
Wenzlau has served on the Palo Alto Stormwater Management Oversight Committee since November 2017, according to his LinkedIn profile. The board reviews proposed stormwater management capital improvement projects and expenditures that are funded by stormwater management fees, the city said on its website.
Wenzlau’s profile also lists him as the president and founder of Terradex Inc., a Palo Alto-based firm that tracks groundwater contamination.
Police said detectives believe there may be other victims. Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Wenzlau can contact the police department at 650-329-2413.