A convicted sex offender was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for contacting an undercover Fountain Valley police officer, who was posing as a teenage girl, with the intent to commit a sex crime.
Troy William Shellenbaum, 34, who pleaded guilty in July, was given credit for 996 days already served behind bars while awaiting trial.
Shellenbaum pleaded guilty to luring a child with the intent to commit a sex crime and meeting a minor to commit lewd conduct, both felonies. As part of the plea bargain, a charge of committing a sex offense with a prior conviction was dropped.
Shellenbaum contacted the undercover officer, who was posing as a 15-year-old girl, through social media Aug. 3, 2018, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. When Shellenbaum showed up at a park in the city to meet the fictitious girl, he was arrested.
Shellenbaum pleaded guilty to rape on Oct. 23, 2006, and was sentenced to three years in prison. He pleaded guilty on March 11, 2016, to failing to register as a sex offender and was sentenced to two years in prison, but the sentence was suspended and he was given credit for serving 204 days in custody, according to court records.