Molester Gets 23 Years and $5,000 Fine : Former Owner of Video Arcade Led Bible Study Group for Boys

An Ocean Beach man who led a Bible study group for adolescent boys was sentenced Wednesday to 23 years in state prison for molesting some of them.

Ronnie Steckbauer, 35, was also fined $5,000 by San Diego Superior Court Judge William Howatt.

One mother of a molested boy told the judge she was very angry and urged a severe sentence. Afterward, she said she felt Steckbauer deserved a life sentence.

Steckbauer pleaded no contest July 12 to seven counts of performing lewd, lascivious acts with boys under age 14.

Steckbauer, who also was the owner of a video arcade in Ocean Beach that attracted children, had been charged with molesting 11 boys over a period of years.

He received consecutive sentences on each count and the judge added five years because of a 1976 Steckbauer felony conviction for molesting a boy in Los Angeles.

Had Steckbauer gone to trial on all 41 counts, including failure to register as a sex offender in San Diego, he would have faced a sentence of 85 to 90 years, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Rick Clabby.

Clabby said he accepted the plea so as to avoid having the victims go through more trauma by testifying again.

The prosecutor and the judge said Steckbauer showed no remorse in an interview with the probation department.

Steckbauer’s only comment in court came when he said he did have remorse.

“The trauma he has caused to all his victims cannot be measured,” Clabby said.

Howatt said Steckbauer took advantage of a position of trust with the boys. A number of victims are undergoing therapy, costing thousands of dollars, according to the probation report.