BY ADRIANA HERNANDEZ
Daily Post Staff Writer
A longtime Palo Alto environmental activist and volunteer has been sentenced to 364 days in jail for trying to meet up with a minor for sex, according to court records.
Robert “Bob” Wenzlau, 67, was sentenced on Thursday (March 12) after signing a plea deal on Aug. 20. After he is released from jail, Wenzlau will go on two years of probation and must register as a sex offender for life, according to court records.
Had he not taken the plea bargain, Wenzlau faced a maximum of five years and a tentative sentence of up to 18 months of incarceration.
He admitted to one misdemeanor of 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.
Wenzlau will need to give his probation officer with any passwords for electronic devices when they check to ensure he doesn’t contact minors. The plea bargain also requires Wenzlau’s probation officer to approve anytime Wenzlau wants to use the internet, according to court records. Wenzlau also has to keep his browsing history for at least 4 weeks. He is not allowed to date anyone who has a minor unless it’s approved by his probation officer.
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.
Wenzlau was released on his own recognizance in June on the condition that he would have no contact with minors.
The bluenose elites in Palo Alto want this story to go away. How can they hold the moral high ground when they’ve got a guy like him leading their pack?
What really needs to go away is the fact that these individuals exist. Since they let them out of jail/prison to early they belong out on Gilligan’s Island. Let them collect coconuts all day and listen to the radio for the non-existent “rescue.” His nieces are bad enough but his dog.
I’m sure the Post will get pushback from certain Palo Altans who will say, “Don’t write about him!” and they’ll argue the story shouldn’t be published. It’s more important to them that they lost a leader of their group than the fact he was a pedo.
It’s infuriating that Rick Beckwith never faced real justice. I remember him, he was ousted as a Palo Alto Babe Ruth coach for blatantly crossing boundaries with his players, giving them gifts and taking them out alone. Then, just days later, he was gone, reportedly by his own hand, cutting off any chance at true accountability.
Richard “Rick” Beckwith, a Palo Alto resident of more than 40 years, was found dead March 3 at the age of 53.
A graduate of the University of San Jose’s Biological Science program, he worked at Communications & Power Industries in Palo Alto as a production manager, doing metallurgy and chemical engineering. He was a force in the community, volunteering his time in a wide variety of children-oriented organizations as well as reaching out to children in his neighborhood. He was commissioner of the Babe Ruth League, and then later in life, commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Commission. He also volunteered his time at the Palo Alto Children’s Theater.
On Halloween he was known for the large telescope he set up in his driveway; children would have to look at a heavenly body before receiving candy. He believed that school was the scariest thing a child could face. He held the neighborhood captive with his displays for viewing the latest eclipse. “There’s a lot of people he touched in Palo Alto with his work,” his brother, Tom Beckwith said. A memorial service will be held Sunday, March 16 at Palo Alto Children’s Theater.
He’ll likely be shielded by a disillusioned Pennsylvania way of life and by neighbors who refuse to question or acknowledge his horrific behavior.
Pedophiles cannot be rehabilitated; the only real solution is to feed him into a wood chipper.
The flipside is he’ll get dealt with accordingly during his stay at Elmwood or at 150 West Hedding.
Meant to say Palo Alto…