FCC Upholds Wahl License Revocation
The full FCC unanimously upheld the Enforcement Bureau’s revocation of Pennsylvania radio broadcaster Roger Wahl’s FCC license for WQZS(FM) Meyersdale (see 2304120067) in an order on review in Thursday’s Daily Digest. Wahl’s license was designated for hearing after he pleaded…
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guilty to a felony and several misdemeanors involving attempting to arrange a woman’s sexual assault. Wahl took nude pictures of the victim using a camera he concealed in her bathroom, impersonated her on a dating website, and later tried to destroy evidence of his crimes. Administrative Law Judge Jane Halprin terminated Wahl’s hearing after he missed numerous filing deadlines, and Wahl also later missed the deadline to appeal the ALJ’s decision, Thursday’s order said. In his appeal, Wahl argued that the crimes didn’t intersect with his radio station, didn’t involve fraud and bodily injury, and represented a single “crime of passion” rather than a pattern of behavior. The FCC disagreed. “We find that an extended course of premeditated conduct cannot fairly be characterized as ‘an isolated crime of passion,'” the FCC said. Wahl’s “lack of candor in tampering with evidence is a form of fraudulent representation,” Thursday’s order said. “While his victim did not suffer bodily injury, his criminal conduct foreseeably placed his victim at risk of sexual assault," the FCC said. “We find Mr. Wahl’s offenses to be egregious and render him unqualified to be a Commission licensee."