A doctor accused of sending “sexually motivated” messages to two high school cheerleaders using fake names on social media while volunteered on a Newport Beach campus was convicted Friday a six months from prison
David Lee Hallera family doctor, was also sentenced to one year of formal probation, with an additional 183 days in prison avoided while his controlled release was completed, and ordered to register as a sex offender after being convicted of two counts of minor harassment offense.
Haller, now 55, was charged in late 2017 with send messages to two 15-year-old students Newport Harbor High family members said It “terrified” the girls and made them feel like they were being harassed. At the time, Haller was volunteering for the cheerleading team UC Irvine Spirit who also worked as a physician at various Newport Harbor High School events.
According to prosecutors, Haller first contacted one of the boys via a direct message on Instagram posing as a school cheerleader and asking him about uniforms and if the boys had ever tried picking up his skirts. When the girl blocked him, prosecutors say she Haller used a Snapchat account to ask her about cheerleading uniforms again and if she could donate money to her, implying she had been watching her.
Haller used Snapchat to text the second girl, prosecutors said, telling her he saw her at a game and in the process describing exactly where she was placed among the other cheerleaders. Haller also told the teen that he saw her bend down and that he felt guilty for looking at her.
Prosecutors say Haller also sent messages to two other girls, although he was not directly charged in connection with those messages. A school coach reached out to authorities after discovering that an unknown person had contacted several cheerleaders on social media and contacted some of them directly.
Haller initially denied a school resources official was behind the messages, prosecutors said, until the officer said he linked social media accounts that had contacted the girls on his phone.
According to prosecutors, Haller then told the school’s resource officer that regardless of whether the messages came from him or someone else, they weren’t meant to threaten or harass, adding that he enjoyed watching cheerleaders and he said 16 “looks like” 18 and “looks at them even though he knows he shouldn’t.”
Prosecutors in a sentencing report said that the girls Haller texted were particularly vulnerable due to their age and that Haller showed planning and sophistication by using multiple social media accounts under a false name and taking advantage of the access he had. had as a doctor and volunteer
An attorney representing Haller previously wrote in a court filing that Haller never attempted to start a personal relationship with any of the teen cheerleaders through social media and never approached them in person.
NOTE IN ENGLISH: Doctor convicted of sending “sexually motivated” messages to cheerleaders at Newport Harbor High
