Ex-Homeland Security employee sentenced to 8 years for molesting three girls under 14

A former Department of Homeland Security employee who molested three girls under 14 in Southern California has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

Terry Edward Keegan, 60, was convicted on March 23 in the Orange County Superior Court on a felony count of lewd acts on a minor younger than 14 as well as single misdemeanor counts each of child annoyance, sexual battery, simple battery, and destroying or concealing evidence. 

According to the Orange County Register, one of the alleged victims had lived with Keegan since she was about four years old. The other two alleged victims were friends of hers. 

Orange County Superior Court Judge Andre Manssourian, when announcing Keegan's sentence Wednesday, said the ex-Homeland Security employee had violated the girls' trust. 

'It turns out the fox was guarding the hen house, and undoubtedly the defendant took advantage of a position of trust,' Manssourian said.

A former Department of Homeland Security employee who molested three girls under 14 in Southern California has been sentenced to eight years in prison

Terry Keegan, 60, was convicted on March 23 in the Orange County Superior Court on a felony count of lewd acts on a minor younger than 14. He is seen in court exclusively by Daily Mail

One of the alleged victims - now a teenager - spoke in court Wednesday and said she was 'young and vulnerable' when the abuse began. 

'I was young and vulnerable and I was taken advantage of,' she said, the Register reported. 'We were children and the man who was supposed to be protecting us hurt us.'

The investigation 'fell through the cracks' according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver, including shocking and disturbing revelations regarding Keegan's proclivity towards young girls. 

During the trial, the girl who lived with the man she called 'grampa' testified that he once slipped his tongue in her mouth while kissing her good night. 

She was 12 at the time and said the incident lasted a second or two. 

She said in court of the incident she 'just remembers feeling uncomfortable .... I didn't know what to do or how to respond.' 

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, the girl said he would kiss her good night every night and they mostly were just pecks on the forehead. 

Other times, he would kiss her on the lips. 

Ultimately, she chose to pretend the tongue incident 'didn't happen' and that she decided not to tell her 'grandmother' because she was worried it could end their relationship. 

'I didn't want her to be alone,' she said.

After that night, however, the girl said she would always 'lower her head.' 

During the trial, the girl who lived with the man she called 'grampa' testified that he once slipped his tongue in her mouth while kissing her good night

According to reporting from the Los Angeles Times, the girl said he would kiss her good night every night and they mostly were just pecks on the forehead

Ultimately, the young girl chose to pretend the tongue incident 'didn't happen' and that she decided not to tell her 'grandmother' because she was worried it could end their relationship

The investigation that 'fell through the cracks' according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver including disturbing revelations regarding Keegan's proclivity towards young girls

Police were alerted to the situation involving the young girl and her friend several times over the years, including in 2021 when the victim and her friends were around for spring break. 

They said the 60-year-old man made inappropriate comments to one girl and insisted he take them out to shop for swimsuits.   

On multiple occasions, the victims also said they believed Keegan was photographing them and other girls at the pool.  

Just before Easter in 2021, one friend of the girl living in the home said Keegan had touched her buttocks and she said the man made her uncomfortable. 

That victim went on to tell her mother, who later called police. 

She said he had also made 'inappropriate' comments about her body and breast size. 

One of the most disturbing alleged encounters happened when the young girl who lived inside the home said she found a vibrator in his bedroom while she was looking for scissors. 

She was in sixth grade and Keegan told her it was for an ex-girlfriend and that he was saving it for her, according to the Deputy District Attorney. 

The young girl said inside their home, Keegan would often expose himself while walking around in his bedroom, which was across from hers. 

Once, in a hotel room, she says the man also masturbated in the bed next to hers. 

While searching his home, officers found a copy of the criminal complaint along with a destroyed hard drive and thumb drive

Senior Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver (right) and defense attorney Jay Moorhead speak in court during Homeland Security employee Terry Edward Keegan

Charges were brought against him in December 2021 but were sealed due to his job.

On January 26, 2022, however, the charges were unsealed and officers executed a search warrant. 

While searching his home, officers found a copy of the criminal complaint along with a destroyed hard drive and thumb drive. 

Prosecutors said they believed Keegan took photographs of the victims through the years.

'One wonders what was on those hard drives,' Manssourian said during the sentencing hearing, according to the Register. The judge also said the destruction of the hard drive is a 'cloud that hangs over this case.'

Keegan was facing up to 22 years in prison, according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver. 

In addition to working for Homeland Security, Keegan worked with the Transportation Security Administration and was a reserve deputy for the Orange County Sheriff's Department.