Man pleads guilty to molestation

A Spokane Valley transient pleaded guilty Tuesday to molesting a 12-year-old boy over a five-month period last year. Sean M. Hofer, 27, faces up to three years in prison at a sentencing scheduled for July 7. According to court records and testimony, Hofer had been staying in a trailer in a Spokane Valley RV park. At some point, he was invited to live in the same home as the boy and would babysit the victim while the father went to work, according to court records. Hofer admitted to molesting the boy between February and July last year. Deputy Spokane County Prosecutor Ed Hay agreed to allow Hofer to plead guilty to second-degree child molestation and assault of a child in the third degree. Hofer originally had been charged with child molestation in the first degree. The agreement calls for a recommended sentence of 27 months for the molestation charge and eight months for the assault charge.