Wenzlau sentencing in sex case set for March 12

BY STEPHANIE LAM
Daily Post Correspondent

A longtime environmental group volunteer in Palo Alto, who admitted to possessing child pornography and trying to meet up with a minor for sex, will be sentenced on March 12.

Robert “Bob” Wenzlau, 67, was supposed to be sentenced on Jan. 8, but the date was rescheduled at the request of the prosecutor due to a death in the prosecutor’s family, according to Wenzlau’s attorney Daniel Barton.

Wenzlau, who signed a plea deal on Aug. 20, faces a maximum sentence of five years and a tentative sentence of up to 18 months in state prison, according to court records.

He admitted to one misdemeanor for arranging a meeting with a minor and three felonies: possession of child pornography, communicating with a minor with intent to commit a sexual offense, and sending harmful materials to a minor. He will be required to register as a sex offender for life.

In April 2024, Wenzlau was arrested at his home in the Crescent Park neighborhood for sending sexually explicit messages to two undercover police officers who posed as young girls.

Wenzlau talked about meeting up with the girls and made sexual comments about his dog and nieces, police said. “Wenzlau appears to be highly motivated to take action on his sexual desires toward children,” Officer Yolanda Franco-Clausen wrote in her police report.

Wenzlau was known for leading the nonprofit Neighbors Abroad for eight years, an organization that oversees Palo Alto’s relationships with its sister cities. He also worked with the city on environmental issues for decades and lobbied for successful ballot measures in 2011, 2017 and 2022.

Wenzlau founded the environmental consultant company, Terradex, which helps clean up contaminated or environmentally sensitive properties.

After his arrest, Wenzlau left the boards for Terradex and Neighbors Abroad. Palo Alto City Council removed him from the city’s Stormwater Oversight Committee, which he helped create.

According to a Dec. 31 court record, Wenzlau became suicidal after his arrest and underwent hospitalization at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View. He later went to a sex offender treatment program in Malta, Idaho and in Palm Springs.

Wenzlau was released on his own recognizance in June on the condition that he would have no contact with minors.