Santa Rosa Man Sentenced on Charge of Annoying or Molesting a Child Under Age 18

Defendant Timothy Kottler, 48 years old of Santa Rosa, was sentenced today by the Honorable Mark Urioste after a jury found him guilty on October 25, 2018 of annoying or molesting a child under 18 years of age – a misdemeanor.

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “The conduct by this defendant was very disturbing and we believe the jury’s verdict reflects that. We applaud the courage of this young victim, and the awareness of the concerned citizen that helped apprehend the defendant.”

The charge resulted from an incident that occurred on March 21, 2018 when a 13 year old girl was walking home from Mark West Charter School in the Larkfield area of Santa Rosa. Kottler drove past the child, made a U-turn, and pulled into an oncoming lane of traffic next to her. Kottler opened his driver’s side door and began talking to the child and tried to lure her into his car. Kottler told the child numerous times during the approximately four minute encounter that she was pretty and asked for her phone number. An AT&T technician working on a house-call in the neighborhood observed the encounter and eventually made eye contact with Kottler. Immediately thereafter Kottler drove away, but not before the technician wrote down his license plate number. Through a subsequent investigation, Sheriff’s Deputies were able to locate Kottler and arrest him on March 23, 2018. During an interview with Kottler, he initially denied ever contacting the child but stated he sometimes “cat calls” women. Eventually, Kottler admitted to the encounter with the child.

Kottler was sentenced to 120 days in jail, 4 years formal probation, required to register as a sex offender, as well as attend and complete the Sex Offenders and Families in Effective Recovery (SAFER) program.

At sentencing the court indicated it was a good thing for Jane Doe’s safety that she did not get into the defendant’s car, and that the court considered Kottler’s conduct to be very serious.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department headed the investigation.