LOS ANGELES : Man Who Said He Found 2 Boys Convicted of Kidnaping

A man who said he found two lost boys was sentenced Thursday to eight years in prison after a judge convicted him of kidnaping.

In a two-day trial, Mario Sosa, also known as Enrique Lopez-Palma, was convicted by Superior Court Judge John Reid of two counts of kidnaping a child under 14 and two counts of child-stealing.

Sosa, who had waived his right to a jury trial, was arrested Jan. 10 after an investigation into the Christmas Day disappearance of a 3-year-old boy and the Dec. 4 disappearance of a 4-year-old.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Lopez said the younger boy vanished from his father’s side at a video arcade at 7th Street and Broadway.

The youngster, subject of a wide search, showed up nine days later in the custody of Sosa, who told police he had found the boy under a pay phone about a block from the arcade. The child was unable to say where he had been, Lopez said.

A few weeks earlier, a 4-year-old boy had disappeared from the Downtown Greyhound Bus Station and turned up the next day with the defendant. Sosa told authorities he found the boy wandering in the street, Lopez said.

Sosa was praised for “finding” the first child and hailed as a hero, garnering widespread media attention. Lopez said Sosa had expected to get a $25,000 reward posted for the second boy.