Ex-HPD officer to get probation for sexually assaulting girl, 5

A former Honolulu police officer will not face any jail or prison term when he is sentenced in August for sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl.

An Oahu grand jury returned an indictment in 2017 charging Teddy O. Van Lerberghe with seven counts of sexual assault, starting in 2004, when the girl was 5 years old. The charges accuse Van Lerberghe of continuing to sexually assault the girl until 2008.

Four of the charges are Class A felonies that carry mandatory 20-year prison terms. The other three are Class C felonies punishable by up to five years in prison.

In a deal with the state, Van Lerberghe, 45, pleaded guilty last week to four Class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, and the three original Class C felonies. The deal also guarantees Van Lerberghe a five-year probation sentence with no included jail term. He will still have to register as a convicted sex offender for the rest of his life.

Brooks Baehr, spokesman for the Honolulu Department of the Prosecuting Attorney, said, “We’re not going to comment on the case until after Van Lerberghe is sentenced in August.”

Van Lerberghe joined the Honolulu Police Department in January 2007 and was terminated in May 2016.