Child molester sentenced to six years

A man arrested in Hawaii 16 years after authorities in San Diego issued an arrest warrant charging him with molesting two children he babysat was sentenced Tuesday to six years in state prison.

Peter Bitner, 64, must also register as a sex offender, said Superior Court Judge Michael Smyth. Bitner pleaded guilty Oct. 23 to two counts of committing a lewd act on a child and agreed to the stipulated prison sentence.

The defendant was living out of his car in Honolulu when authorities tracked him down and arrested him in September.

Deputy District Attorney Marisa Di Tillio said Bitner — who fashioned himself as a self-improvement guru — befriended the parents of the 4-year-old girl and her 2-year-old brother and babysat for them in the early 1990s.

The molestations occurred in Point Loma between August 1992 and March 1993, the prosecutor said. The mother noticed her children were displaying inappropriate behavior after Bitner’s babysitting and called police, Di Tillio said.

Bitner molested the girl a number of times and her brother once, according to the prosecutor.

This story was written and edited by City News Service.

Tags: Peter Bitner, Peter Bitner child molester, Peter Bitner sentencing, San Diego child molester, SDNN

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