Homeless Man Sentenced For Annoying Girl Walking Home From School

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A homeless Santa Rosa man was sentenced in Sonoma County Superior Court on Tuesday to 120 days in jail and four years' probation for annoying or molesting a 13-year-old girl who was walking home from school. Timothy Kottler, 48, was convicted of the misdemeanor charge by a jury on Oct. 25, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.

Kottler drove past the girl and made a U-turn as she walked home from Mark West Charter School in Larkfield north of Santa Rosa on March 21. He pulled next to the girl in his vehicle, opened the driver's side door and tried to lure the girl into the vehicle, prosecutors said.

During the four-minute encounter, Kottler told the girl she was pretty and asked for her phone number. An AT&T technician working in the neighborhood saw the encounter and made eye contact with Kottler, according to the district attorney's office.

Kottler immediately left but the technician wrote down the vehicle's license plate number. Sonoma County sheriff's deputies traced the license to Kottler and arrested him two days later.

Kottler initially denied contacting the girl but admitted he sometimes "cat calls" women. He eventually admitted having an encounter with the girl, prosecutors said.

Judge Mark Urioste also ordered Kottler to register as a sex offender and complete a sex offender's recovery program.

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By Bay City News Service

Photo courtesy Sonoma County Sheriff's Office