Ex-Homeland Security employee sentenced to 8 years for molesting three girls under 14
A former A Department of Homeland Security employee who assaulted three girls under the age of 14 in Southern California has been sentenced to eight years in prison.
Terry Edward Keegan, 60, was convicted March 23 in Orange County Superior Court of a misdemeanor charge of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14, as well as some misdemeanor offenses, each of child aggravation, sexual battery, simple battery and vandalism or concealment of evidence .
According to the Orange County Registerone of the alleged victims had been living with Keegan since she was about four years old. The other two alleged victims were friends of hers.
Orange County Supreme Court Justice Andre Manssourian, announcing Keegan’s verdict Wednesday, said the former Homeland Security employee had betrayed the girls’ trust.
“It appears that the fox was guarding the chicken coop and no doubt the defendant abused a position of trust,” Manssourian said.
A former Department of Homeland Security employee who molested three girls under the age of 14 in Southern California has been sentenced to eight years in prison
Terry Keegan, 60, was convicted March 23 in Orange County Superior Court of a misdemeanor charge of lewd acts with a minor under the age of 14, as well as some misdemeanor counts, each of child aggravation, sexual battery, simple battery and destroying or concealing evidence
One of the alleged victims – now a teenager – spoke in court on Wednesday and said she was “young and vulnerable” when the abuse began.
“I was young and vulnerable and I was taken advantage of,” she said, the registry reported. “We were children and the man who was supposed to protect us hurt us.”
According to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver, the investigation “fell through the cracks,” including shocking and disturbing revelations about Keegan’s penchant for young girls.
At the trial, the girl who lived with the man she called “grampa” testified that he once slipped his tongue into her mouth while kissing her goodnight.
She was 12 at the time and said the incident lasted a second or two.
She said in court of the incident that she “only remembers being uncomfortable…. I didn’t know what to do or how to react.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, the girl said he would kiss her goodnight every night and it was usually just kisses on the forehead.
Other times he kissed her on the lips.
In the end, she chose to pretend that the tongue incident “didn’t happen” and that she decided not to tell her “grandmother” because she was afraid it would end their relationship.
“I didn’t want her to be alone,” she said.
However, after that night, the girl said she would always “lower her head.”
At the trial, the girl who lived with the man she called ‘grampa’ testified that he once slipped his tongue into her mouth while kissing her goodnight
According to Los Angeles Times reporting, the girl said he would kiss her goodnight every night and it was usually just kisses on the forehead.
In the end, the young girl chose to pretend that the tongue incident “didn’t happen” and that she decided not to tell her “grandmother” because she was afraid it would end their relationship.
The investigation that Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver says “fell between the cracks,” including disturbing revelations about Keegan’s penchant for young girls
Police were made aware of the situation involving the young girl and her friend several times over the years, including in 2021 when the victim and her friends were in the area for spring break.
They said the 60-year-old man made inappropriate comments to a girl and insisted he take them to buy swimsuits.
On multiple occasions, the victims also said they believed Keegan was photographing them and other girls at the pool.
Just before Easter 2021, a friend of the girl who lived in the house said Keegan touched her buttocks and the man made her uncomfortable.
That victim told her mother, who later called the police.
She said he had also made “inappropriate” comments about her body and bust size.
One of the most disturbing alleged encounters happened when the young girl who lived in the house said she had a vibrator in his bedroom while she was looking for a pair of scissors.
She was in sixth grade and Keegan told her it was for an ex-girlfriend and that he was keeping it for her, according to the deputy district attorney.
The young girl said Keegan would do that in their house often exposes himself walking around his bedroom, which was opposite hers.
Once, in a hotel room, she said that the man also masturbated in the bed next to hers.
While searching his house, officers found a copy of the indictment along with a destroyed hard drive and USB stick
Senior Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver (right) and attorney Jay Moorhead speak in court during Homeland Security employee Terry Edward Keegan
In December 2021, charges were filed against him but were sealed due to his job.
However, on January 26, 2022, the charges were unsealed and officers executed a search warrant.
While searching his house, officers found a copy of the indictment along with a destroyed hard drive and USB stick.
Prosecutors said they believed Keegan had been taking photos of the victims over the years.
“You wonder what was on those hard drives,” Manssourian said at the sentencing hearing, according to the registry. The judge also said that the destruction of the hard drive is a “cloud hanging over this case.”
Keegan faced up to 22 years in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver.
In addition to his work for Homeland Security, Keegan worked for the Transportation Security Administration and was a reserve deputy for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.