San Diego judge rules Selas is Rapides fugitive

SAN DIEGO — A California judge has determined that a man recently arrested in a San Diego suburb is a fugitive wanted in a 1979 child sexual abuse investigation in Rapides Parish.

A San Diego County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday after a brief identity hearing, according to The Associated Press.

Marc Carlos, an attorney for Selas, noted there were no matching fingerprints but Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom ruled swiftly, offering no explanation.

Selas, who stood slightly hunched with his hair disheveled and glasses resting below his eyes, said nothing during a hearing that lasted about five minutes. He is being held without bail.

“He’s traumatized,” Carlos told reporters. “He’s not in good shape.”

Authorities say Frank John Selas III, known as "Mr. Wonder" on a Monroe children's television show, assumed a new identity in Bonita, where he often invited children to his house to swim and was a Cub Scout leader. He was arrested in January.

The ruling sets the stage for extradition proceedings to begin, according to the AP. Brian Mosely, the Rapides Parish assistant district attorney handling the case, said he would be filing paper work for an extradition warrant.

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At an earlier hearing in January, the 76-year-old Selas had denied being the man wanted on warrants for two counts of obscene behavior with a juvenile. At that time a defense attorney read a family statement saying he was well-loved and respected in the San Diego community.

But Rapides Parish officials, in a press conference Jan. 26 in which Selas' arrest was announced, said they don't believe Selas ever stopped molesting young boys after he fled the Monroe area. He previously had been accused of molestation while teaching in Japan earlier in the 1970s, according to information revealed at the press conference.

The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office still is asking for anyone who might be a victim to contact investigators. Seles likely could face additional charges when he's brought back to Rapides Parish.

Officials have not said whether Selas' wife, Maria Magdalena Aranda Selas, might face charges. During the press conference, Hilton called her "very evasive.

"She didn't tell us anything and would not tell us anything."

She was found with her husband in Bonita when he was arrested.

"So this guy has traveled throughout the world," said Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton, who was a detective on the case in 1979. "Always, wherever he landed, wherever he went, he always involved young boys with him."

Investigators know that Selas fled the United States and went to Rio de Janeiro. But he disappeared after that, and 37 years passed before he was found by U.S. marshals in San Diego.

Selas legally changed his name to Szeles while in San Diego. At the time of his arrest, he had a website under Szeles Enterprises that offered swimming lessons and other recreational activities for youngsters. As of Thursday, that website has been taken down.

Anyone who believes they could be a victim of Selas' or has information is asked to contact Rapides Detective Stephen Phillips at 318-473-6727 or the sheriff office's main number at 318-473-6700. People also can call CrimeStoppers at 318-443-7867.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.