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Convicted rapist gets 520-year sentence for molesting girl he was babysitting

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A 72-year-old convicted rapist was sentenced this week to 520 years to life in prison for sexually abusing a 9-year-old girl, whom he babysat for six months, prosecutors said.

John Adam Whitsell was convicted on Oct. 12 of nine sexual offenses, including lewd acts on a child, following a six-day trial, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

He was babysitting the girl, who was also a relative, between Jan. 1, 2015, and June 30, 2015, according to the district attorney’s office.

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During that time, Whitsell sexually assaulted her at a home in Canyon Country, prosecutors said.

In 1971, Whitsell was convicted of aggravated rape in two separate cases in Louisiana, according to the district attorney’s office.

He served seven years in prison for those convictions and had been listed on the California Department of Justice’s sex offender database.

veronica.rocha@latimes.com

For breaking news in California, follow @VeronicaRochaLA on Twitter.

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