A man pleaded guilty Friday to the attempted sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History last spring.
Devone Foote, 35, was arrested April 4 for allegedly touching seven girls who were on a school trip to the museum, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia. The guilty plea involved one of those girls.
A volunteer at the museum’s insect exhibit saw Foote watch a group of girls, approach them and take pictures, officials said. He touched the girl inappropriately, held her hair and walked away.
Not long after, he was arrested outside the museum, officials said in the statement.
Foote’s plea deal calls for a sentence of 18 months in prison for attempted second-degree child sex abuse.
That charge carries a maximum sentence of five years. Following his release, Foote must register as a sex offender for 10 years, officials said in the statement.
