TV medical correspondent charged with solicitation of minor

Prosecutors say Dr. Bruce Hensel, former medical correspondent for KNBC-TV in Los Angeles, has been arrested on suspicion of contacting a 9-year-old girl with intent to commit sexual acts.

The district attorney’s office says that the 71-year-old used a messaging app to request suggestive photos from the daughter of an acquaintance.

Hensel's attorney, Steve Sitkoff, said in a statement that Hensel is “completely innocent.” Hensel didn’t speak to reporters after being released on $5,000 bail.

Investigators with the Crimes Against Children Task Force served a search warrant at Hensel's Pacific Palisades home on Oct. 16.

For three decades Hensel was the chief health, medical and science editor and correspondent for KNBC. He won multiple Emmys.

He’s a practicing physician who is board certified in two specialties, internal medicine and emergency medicine.