File - This Jan. 25 2016, file photo provided by the U.S. Marshals Service shows Frank John Seles III after his arrest in Bonita, Calif. Selas, the host of the "Mr. Wonder" show in Louisiana, pleaded guilty Thursday, Jan. 18, 2018, to indecent behavior with a child and was sentenced to five years in prison. His punishment comes nearly four decades after he vanished amid allegations that he sexually abused children on a camping trip. (U.S. Marshals Service via AP, File)
January 18, 2018 - 1:51 PM
ALEXANDRIA, La. - A former children's television show host known as "Mr. Wonder" has been sentenced to five years in prison, nearly four decades after he vanished amid allegations that he sexually abused children on a camping trip.
Rapides Parish prosecutor Brian Mosley said in a statement that Frank John Selas III pleaded guilty Thursday to indecent behaviour with a child, and a judge gave him credit for the time he's served since his January 2016 arrest in California.
In the late 1970s, Selas hosted the "Mr. Wonder" show on KNOE-TV in north Louisiana. He allegedly fled to Brazil in 1979 after parents complained to authorities that he abused their children.
Selas had settled in the San Diego area by 1985 and legally changed his name to Frank Szeles in 1992.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018