By Sam Stanton
sstanton@sacbee.com
Jack Louis Sporich, a 75-year-old pedophile who authorities believe victimized as many as 500 children before abruptly moving to Cambodia, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Los Angeles to sexual conduct with two 12-year-old boys in Southeast Asia.
Sporich, who was the focus of a 2006 Bee series on California's failed efforts to treat sexually violent predators, entered into a plea agreement with federal prosecutors that could send him to prison for 10 years and fine him as much as $30,000, money that would be placed in a fund for the two boys.
Sporich, a wealthy engineer who was building a $1.2 million home in the resort community of Siem Reap, is accused of luring the boys to the home, which included a swimming pool and water slide. Court documents indicate he had been seen driving the streets of the community on a motorbike dropping currency on the street for children to pick up.
Sporich moved to Cambodia in November 2008 after what authorities said was a series of molestations in the United States that began in the 1960s. He was convicted in Ventura County on seven counts of molestation and spent nine years in prison.
Upon completion of his sentence, Sporich was declared a sexually violent predator and sent to Atascadero State Hospital. He refused treatment there and eventually won release in May 2004 after two juries were unable to agree on whether he was likely to re-offend.
He left California for an upscale condo in Sedona, Ariz., where he was visited by Bee reporters and insisted he was not a threat to anyone.
He was arrested in Cambodia last February and brought back to the United States in late August under the auspices of "Operation Twisted Traveler," an international law enforcement effort aimed at "sex tourists" victimizing juveniles overseas.
Call The Bee's Sam Stanton, (916) 321-1091.
Previous coverage:
Child molester expelled from Cambodia, is in U.S. custody Sept. 1, 2009
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