Walter Lee Williams
Walter Lee Williams appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted List for sexual abuse of young boys in the Philippines. FBI

A disgraced former university professor once named as one of the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives has been captured and has pleaded guilty Friday to flying to the Philippines to have sex with underage boys.

Walter Lee Williams, 65, pleaded guilty at a Los Angeles court to one federal count of engaging in illicit sexual contact in foreign places.

He admitted travelling from Los Angeles to the Philippines in January 2011 to engage in sex acts with two boys, ages 13 and 14, that he met online in 2010.

While in the Philippines, Williams sexually exploited both boys, one of whom he also photographed in the nude. He also had sexual relations with a 15 year and three other boys, all aged 16.

Prison deal

Williams fled the Los Angeles area approximately one week after returning from the Philippines. A federal arrest warrant was issued for the former Palm Springs, California, resident in Los Angeles in April 2013, according to the FBI website.

Williams will be formally sentenced on December 15 but pled guilty in exchange for a prison sentence no longer than five years, followed by 10 years of supervised release. He will have to pay $25,000 restitution, which will be divvied up among his seven victims, and he will also be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life

Until 2011, Williams was a highly respected tenured professor of anthropology, gender and sexuality studies at the University of Southern California where his field of study was gender development and sexuality.

Williams was placed on FBI's list of Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives in connection to sex crimes involving young boys living abroad. He was caught by Mexican police in the Playa del Carmen resort in June 2013.

"Williams has an extensive history of travel throughout the South East Asia region, specifically the Philippines," the FBI said after his arrest. "He has reportedly resided in Indonesia, Polynesia and Thailand."