'Mr. Wonder' to be arraigned on Monday

Almost 40 years after he was accused of obscene behavior with young boys, Frank John Selas III was led in handcuffs late Thursday night into the Rapides Parish Detention Center.

No one in the small crowd of media and law enforcement spoke to Selas, other than the deputies helping him out of the patrol unit. He did not look at anyone as he walked to the elevator. In addition to being handcuffed, he had a chain around his waist and a coat draped over his hands.

Selas, who legally changed his name in 1992 to Frank Szeles, was a children's television show host at KNOE-TV in Monroe as "Mr. Wonder." He also chaperoned various outings, including one to Valentine Lake in June 1979. After the camping trip, several boys told their parents that they'd been sexually abused. The parents filed complaints, leading to two warrants for obscene behavior with juveniles being issued.

Rapides Parish Sheriff William Earl Hilton was the lead detective on the case at the time, along with his partner Graham Hendricks. When the two arrived at Selas' home, he'd already fled. Investigators soon discovered Selas' car abandoned at an airport in Dallas and learned that he had left the country.

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'Mr. Wonder' won't fight extradition to Rapides Parish

On Thursday night, Hilton watched as Selas was driven to the third floor of the parking garage outside the sheriff's office and was escorted into an elevator to be booked into jail. Selas was to be charged with the 1979 warrants, as well as charges he was indicted on in late February by a Rapides Parish grand jury — two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of sexual battery and eight counts of felony indecent behavior with juveniles.

Before flying to Alexandria International Airport on Thursday, Selas had been in a San Diego County jail since his arrest on Jan. 25 at his home in Bonita, California. He left California with two Rapides Parish Sheriff's detectives.

Besides the media, deputies and Hilton, Rapides Parish District Attorney Phillip Terrell and Assistant District Attorney Brian Mosley also were in the parking garage to watch Selas' return.

Alexandria attorney Mike Small files motion to represent 'Mr. Wonder'

The 76-year-old grandfather is to be kept in isolation, according to the sheriff's office.

Selas is being represented by his California-based attorney, Marc Carlos, and by Alexandria defense attorney Mike Small, who will meet with him on Friday. He will be arraigned on Monday.

Mosley acknowledged the time that has elapsed since the alleged crimes makes prosecuting the case more difficult, but said that the state has "very good witnesses and police have done a great job, the deputies have done a great job of picking the case up essentially where it was left off when the sheriff was an investigator that worked the case."

He does expect Selas' attorneys to raise that issue in pretrial motions, but said he felt confident that he could answer those successfully.