Outrage Erupts After Ex-NBC Doctor Gets No Jail Time For Soliciting Minor For Explicit Photos

Outrage erupted after a former NBC-affiliate medical correspondent received no jail time after he asked a 9-year-old girl for nude photos, RadarOnline.com has learned.

Dr. Bruce Hensel, 74, was arrested in November 2019 after he was accused of asking the minor for "sexy and private" pictures through an online messaging app in August 2019.

Despite pleading no contest to one count of contacting a minor with the intent to commit a crime on Monday, he was sentenced to two years of probation and must register as a sex offender.

The former medical correspondent for LA's KNBC news issued an apology to the girl's family — and even gave her father, an acquaintance of his, a hug — when he entered his plea.

"I’m terribly sorry for what happened," Dr. Hensel said in court. "I’ve done everything I can to understand this isolated thing."

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Dr. Hensel doubled down on the "isolated" event and referred to his faith in God. The ex-NBC correspondent's probation sentence sparked anger across social media by users who felt the punishment did not meet the severity of the crime.

"Lock him up and throw away the key," read one Twitter user's take on the outcome. Another Twitter user speculated, "Isolated incident — I doubt it."

"Two years probation is punishment? That is nothing," shared a third. "We don’t protect or value our children."

At the time of his arrest, Dr. Hensel worked as an on-air medical correspondent for NBC news in L.A. and an affiliate in New York. Dr. Hensel first joined the NBC network in 1984 while practicing internal and emergency medicine as a board-certified physician.