Retired CHP officer convicted in sex case

A now-retired lieutenant for the California Highway Patrol was convicted Tuesday, Dec. 22 of attempting to commit unlawful sexual acts with a fictitious 13-year-old girl, whom he believed was real, after meeting the girl online and engaging in explicit sexual conversations in an underage sex sting based in Laguna Beach.

A jury found Stephen Robert Deck, 55, of Carlsbad, guilty of one felony count of attempted lewd acts on a child under 14. He faces a maximum sentence of four years in state prison at his sentencing Jan. 22.

Beginning Feb. 12, 2006, Deck had online and phone conversations with a woman who told him she was a 13-year-old girl. He made graphic sexual statements and sexually suggestive comments, and arranged to meet the “victim” in Laguna Beach.

On Feb. 18, 2006, Deck drove from San Diego County to Laguna Beach. He was arrested upon attempting to make contact with the fictitious girl.

Deck, along with 12 other men, was arrested as a result of a law enforcement sting targeting Internet sexual predators. The sting was conducted by the Laguna Beach Police Department, Orange County Department of Probation, and Orange County District Attorney’s Office, with help from Perverted-Justice.com.