San Jose Police Say Sexual Predator May Have 36,000 Victims
San Jose police Thursday poured over the
highly-detailed spiral notebooks of a man who may have molested more than 36,000
children over the past four decades in one of the largest child sex cases ever
encountered.
Arthur Schwartzmiller, 63, was arrested May 23 in Washington. Authorities said
Schwartzmiller fled San Jose one day after the parents of a 12-year-old boy told
police they thought the home renovation contractor had molested their son.
Inside Schwartzmiller's home, detectives found seven spiral notebooks containing
more than 36,000 entries, chronicling explicit sexual encounters with boys
dating back 35 years. The youngest of the victims are believed to have been
about age eight.
"We know that according to these records, some of these children have been
molested multiple times," said San Jose Police Lt. and head of the sexual
assault unit Scott Cornfield at a press conference today. "If any of these
numbers are even close to accurate, then it is one of the most significant child
molestation finds that we have ever encountered."
Police also seized computer equipment, including a six-foot-tall computer
server, and pornographic photographs of children. Authorities are investigating
whether Schwartzmiller may have established child pornography websites or
perhaps used the computers to lure young victims.
In the thoroughly-kept notebooks were names listed under headings such as "Boys
under 12," "Blond Boys," "Cute Boys," "Boys who say no," and boys by specific
sex act, Cornfield said.
Schwartzmiller is facing seven felony charges, including aggravated sexual
assault and lewd acts on a child. He remains behind bars without bail in San
Jose. Police said Schwartzmiller molested at least two San Jose boys in his
Vineyard Street home after inviting the children over to watch movies and play
videogames.
Schwartzmiller has a long history of child molestation accusations and at least
three convictions stretching across the country, including arrests in Oregon,
Idaho, New York, California, Arkansas and Washington. Investigators are also
looking into the possibility Schwartzmiller molested boys as far away as Mexico
and Brazil.
"If one-tenth of these numbers are accurate, we're looking at hundreds of
victims in a number of states. The reason we want to tell the world about this
is because we believe he's been involved in child molestations in a number of
countries," said Cornfield.
Cornfield said Schwartzmiller did not register as a sex offender as required and
therefore was not listed on California's "Megan's Law" website.
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