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Previously convicted pedophile sentenced to 17 1/2 years for attempted sexual assault of niece in the Philippines

LOS ANGELES - An Orange County man with a history of child molestation going back nearly 50 years has been sentenced to 210 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to attempting to sexually assault another family member in the Philippines.

Arthur Leroy Shoot, 71, who maintains residences in Mission Viejo, Calif., and in the Philippines, was sentenced yesterday by U. S. District Judge S. James Otero. The case against Shoot is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

In April, Shoot pleaded guilty to attempting to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place. The case followed Shoot's arrest by ICE agents on Sept. 3, 2008, when he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport after a trip to the Philippines. Investigators examined a camera in Shoot's luggage and discovered four sexually explicit photos of a young girl. Shoot later told investigators that the photos were of his wife's niece, who was seven years old at the time.

Judge Otero handed down the 17½-year federal prison sentence after noting that three prior child molestation convictions dating back to 1963 had failed to stop Shoot's conduct. Shoot, who described himself to investigators as a "pedophile," was previously convicted in state courts of molesting two of his daughters, but he received sentences of only one year and 18 months for assaulting them, one of whom was abused for more than a decade.

Shoot's first conviction dates back to 1963, when he was convicted of assaulting a girl he met at a church. During the latest investigation, a third daughter told investigators that she was molested for years, although no criminal charges ever resulted from those attacks.