Frank John Selas III, known as "Mr. Wonder," has been arrested in California after allegedly violating his parole.
Whether or not he gets sent back to Louisiana to answer for that is another matter. There are no immediate plans to bring Selas back, and it's possible it could wait until a federal case against him is resolved.
Selas, 79, was booked into the Vista Detention Center in Vista, California, on Dec. 7 after his arrest. He remains in the facility with no bond set on Monday afternoon.
According to a document filed with the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of California on Dec. 13, Selas went to a home he'd been barred from visiting because children lived there.
That was discovered when an official reviewed Selas' movements recorded by a GPS device. Selas had been placed on monitoring via GPS on Nov. 27.
On the same day the parole official discovered the infraction, Selas reported to his parole office and was arrested. His parole officer also found "multiple photos of unknown children" on his cellphone, it reads.
In January, Selas pleaded guilty to one felony count of indecent behavior with a juvenile in Rapides Parish. He was sentenced to five years in prison at hard labor, which was the maximum sentence allowed in 1979 — the year in which the offense happened.
He had been indicted by a Rapides Parish grand jury in February 2016 on two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of sexual battery and eight counts of felony indecent behavior with juveniles, but a plea deal was arranged.
Part of that deal requires him to register as a sex offender for 15 years.
In 1979, the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office had a warrant for Selas' arrest after complaints were filed alleging he had molested at least one boy on a camping trip to Valentine Lake. At the time, he was host of a children's television show in Monroe, and Mr. Wonder was his persona.
But he fled the country before he could be arrested. It wasn't until January 2016 that U.S. Marshals finally caught up to him at his home near San Diego, California.
After serving his sentence in Louisiana, Selas returned home. On Nov. 27, he visited with his parole officer and signed a statement acknowledging the special conditions of his parole. As a sex offender, he is not allowed to associate with those younger than 18.
Selas currently faces a charge of lying on his passport application in federal court in California. He's accused of omitting his birth name from a passport application he filed in July 2014.
Selas legally changed his name to John Frank Szeles in July 1992.
On that same application, Selas swore he wasn't wanted for any felonies, reads the complaint against him.
He has pleaded not guilty. A motion hearing has been set for Jan. 2, 2019.
