Keith Allen Hoover - Child Molester - Guilty!

Hoover began molesting the boy, who was younger than 10, in 2003. Serafini said the victim's family and Hoover came into contact through a church in Orange County, where the family had befriended him.

"The family reached out to assist the perpetrator when he was in need, and he took advantage of the family," Serafini said.

An Atwater resident convicted of molesting a young boy in Orange and El Dorado counties was sentenced to a year in jail last week by an El Dorado County Superior Court judge.

Keith Allen Hoover, 46, pleaded no contest to felony child molestation charges Monday. He will remain in El Dorado County Jail and will have to register as a lifetime convicted sex offender after his release.

Hoover also was given five years' probation and is subject to a variety of restrictions, such as staying away from anyone younger than 18.

Although Hoover has lived outside Merced County, he lists his address in Atwater in the 300 block of Center Street, according to court documents.

El Dorado Deputy District Attorney Lisa Serafini said Hoover began molesting the boy, who was younger than 10, in 2003. Serafini said the victim's family and Hoover came into contact through a church in Orange County, where the family had befriended him.

"The family reached out to assist the perpetrator when he was in need, and he took advantage of the family," Serafini said.

After the family moved to El Dorado County, Serafini said, Hoover visited their home, where he again sexually abused the boy.

"The family had moved up here, not knowing that this man was abusing their child," Serafini said. "He was welcome in their home when they moved to El Dorado County."

Hoover was arrested in January after the boy confided in a counselor from the South Lake Tahoe Women's Center, which provides outreach services to people who are victims of sexual abuse. Serafini said Hoover was working in the Orange County city of Costa Mesa at the time of his arrest.

The victim's 45-year-old father, who was a church ministry leader, said he was satisfied with the sentence.

Serafini said it's unknown if there are other victims Hoover has molested. She said she does not know if Hoover plans to return to Atwater after he is released from jail. He will have to apply to the El Dorado County Probation Department before he can be transferred outside of that area, and under the terms of his sentence he can't leave the state.

"He never lived here, so odds are he won't stay in El Dorado County," Serafini said.