ACTON, Calif. – Kim Fahey will tell you he never set out to be a folk hero of the Mojave Desert. He says he’s just a regular guy who wanted a little place to call his own, where he could pretty much do as he darned well pleased.

So he bought an old house on a 1.7-acre patch of sand in a wind-swept corner of the high desert.

When his kids started being born — 10 in all — he decided he needed more room. So the 30-year phone company technician built the eclectic village he dubbed Phonehenge West.

Among its structures is a replica of a 16th-century Viking house that he built for one of his daughters and a mobile home remodeled to look like an antique railroad car.

Then came the centerpiece: a 70-foot tower with stained-glass windows and stunning views of the San Gabriel Mountains.

Unfortunately, Fahey built it all over 25 years while ignoring orders from Los Angeles County to get permits. Last month, he was convicted of a dozen misdemeanor building code violations and is scheduled to be sentenced today in Superior Court in Lancaster.

In addition, he has been ordered to tear down Phonehenge West.

Fahey, 59, could face several years in prison is he refuses to comply. If he complies, he should get off with no more than a fine and community service, said attorney Jerry Lennon, who represented Fahey at his trial.

But Fahey said he has no intention of complying and will file an appeal as soon as he’s sentenced. If the appeal fails, county officials have the authority to tear down Phonehenge themselves.

“They’re going to find out that Faheys don’t fold,” the self-taught builder growled.

Fahey said his constitutional right to do what he wants on his property is being trampled, and that is the real issue in his fight with the county.

If he does lose his appeal, he said he won’t wait for the county to send a crew out to tear down Phonehenge,

Instead, he vowed to dismantle it himself and start rebuilding it someplace else, maybe in rural Nevada or Colorado. “It sure won’t be in California,” he said. “I can tell you that.”