Actor pleads guilty to Kauai theft

Former child star Lance Kerwin, 49, of Lihue will be sentenced July 22 after pleading guilty to second-degree theft, according to The Garden Isle newspaper.

Kerwin starred in the popular "James at 15" and "James at 16" TV series in the late 1970s and had other minor acting roles.

Details of the case were not immediately available. The Garden Isle reported that Kerwin and his wife, Yvonne, 28, were arrested in December and charged with first-degree theft, second-degree theft and un-sworn falsification to authorities.

Kerwin reportedly left the acting business in the 1990s when he moved to a U-Turn for Christ ranch in Perris, Calif., to turn his life around, the newspaper reported. After completing the program, he went on to serve in youth ministry at Calvary Chapel Temecula and was chosen a few years ago to start and lead the U-Turn for Christ program on Kauai, according to Kerwin’s personal testimony in Calvary Magazine.

The maximum punishment for second-degree theft is five years in prison.