A La Jolla man pleaded guilty April 17 to threatening a seal activist who videotaped divers at Children’s Pool. The threat occurred in an explicit e-mail to a volunteer of the Animal Protection and Rescue League, which monitors contact between people and harbor seals at the tourist attraction.
Kent Douglas Trego, 54, could face a maximum term of 10 years in federal prison, but such a long sentence is unlikely, said his attorney, Mark Adams. The federal guideline range for such a crime is between 10 and 16 months, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office is expected to recommend five months in custody plus additional time in a halfway house on probation, Adams said on Friday, April 18.
Following the guilty plea, Adams asked U.S. District Court Magistrate Louisa Porter to release Trego on bail, but she denied his request. Porter earlier ordered Trego to remain in the Metropolitan Correctional Center without bail in light of death threats that were e-mailed to the unnamed activist.
The incident reflects the ongoing controversy at Children’s Pool between seal activists and others who say the beach should be used for children and not seals. People have walked on the beach and appear to be taunting the activists as well as the seals.
Sentencing is set for July 7. The activist videotaped Trego with two scuba divers who appeared to be disturbing the seals on Sept. 22, 2007. Misdemeanor charges were later filed against the divers, and the activist was considered a federal witness. Trego pleaded guilty to threatening a federal witness. Two other counts of transmitting threats in interstate commerce will be dismissed.