Los Osos man avoids prison time for rape of disabled teen

May 14, 2015

A Los Osos man has taken a plea deal that will allow him to spend just one year in jail for sexually penetrating a developmentally disabled 16-year-old girl. [Tribune]

Steve Linzmeier, 57, pleaded no contest Tuesday to child molestation, sexual intercourse with a person under 18 and sexual penetration with a victim under 18. He initially faced three counts of rape, as well as charges of sexual battery and sexual penetration with a foreign object by force.

Linzmeier will serve five years of felony probation, in addition to the year in jail. He must also register as a sex offender.

On March 27, the 16-year-old spent the night at the house of a friend, who is Linzmeier’s son. When others went to bed, the teen retired on the couch in the living room, and Linzmeier kept watching television on another sofa in the room.

In an interview with a detective, the victim said Linzmeier, wearing only boxer shorts, forced himself on top of her about 15 minutes after everyone went to sleep. Then he sexually assaulted her for about 20 minutes, she said.

Linzmeier told detectives that he had previously gone skinny-dipping with the girl and hugged her in a hot tub on multiple occasions. When deputies arrived at his home, he told them that he was a child molester.

But, the Los Osos man told detectives he never completed sexual intercourse. He said he rolled around on the couch with the girl and admitted to several other graphic and illegal acts, according to a sheriff’s report.

Linzmeier changed his plea prior to a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday. He is due for formal sentencing on June 9.