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Molester may have abused `thousands' of children: police

An American convicted on child molestation charges may have abused thousands of children over a 30-year period, police in California said Friday.

San Jose police searched Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller's home Thursday. Investigators found seven notebooks with 36,720 names, next to which were apparently written codes describing abuses.

"If a small percentage of the number we see here is accurate ... he may well be one of the most active child molesters across the country," said Lieutenant Scott Cornfield of the San Jose police department.

Police also seized CD-ROMS and other computer material which have yet to be examined.

The investigation was launched after parents of a 12-year-old filed a sex abuse complaint with police on May 22.

In the last 30 years, Schwartzmiller has been charged and convicted on child molestation charges several times.

The 63-year-old Schwartzmiller was arrested May 23 in Washington state on a California fugitive warrant. An anonymous tipster provided information that led to his arrest, Snohomish County Sheriff's spokesman Rich Niebusch said Friday. He is being held without bail.

Jack Schwartzmiller of Butte, Montana, said his cousin Dean lost contact with most of his relatives years ago. Dean Schwartzmiller has three brothers and a sister living in western Washington, but they could not be reached for comment.

"They knew he was in trouble all the time and they really had disassociated themselves of him," Jack Schwartzmiller said, calling his cousin "just a black sheep in the family."

Schwartzmiller's family knew he had legal troubles, but are likely "pretty surprised at the part that's coming out now," said his aunt, Shirlea Schwartzmiller of Edmonds.

Authorities said Dean Schwartzmiller apparently gained the trust of victims and parents by working as a home renovation contractor. Police in San Jose got involved after he allegedly befriended at least two boys in the city with gifts, invited them to his house for video games and movies, and molested them.

He was returned to California on June 7 to face molestation charges involving two 12-year-old boys.

Although police said Schwartzmiller appears to have spent much of the past 30 years in California, he has been arrested on child molestation charges in New York, Arkansas and Washington. He also served prison time in Idaho for child molestation in the late 1970s, and is wanted in Oregon on sexual assault charges involving a minor.

Police believe he may have victims in Brazil and Mexico.
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