'Most Active Child Molester'?

A convicted child molester jailed in California may have committed sex crimes against thousands of victims, police said Thursday after finding computers, binders and hand-written records complete with children's names and codes for various sex acts.

San Jose Police Lt. Scott Cornfield described 63-year-old Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller as "one of the most active child molesters we've ever seen."

During a search of his bedroom in San Jose, police discovered binders full of child pornography images and numerous logs with meticulous records, listing more than 36,000 children's names — mostly boys — and codes that appear to indicate how he abused them.

"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," Cornfield said.

Schwartzmiller was being held without bail on one count of aggravated sexual assault on a child under 14 and six counts of lewd and lascivious conduct on a child under 14, with each count alleging multiple victims. He was arrested in Washington state late last month and sent to San Jose on June 7.

A message left for his public defender was not immediately returned Thursday.

Although police say Schwartzmiller appears to have spent much of the past 30 years in California, he has also been arrested on child molestation charges in New York, Idaho, Oregon, California, Arkansas and Washington.

San Jose police got involved after Schwartzmiller 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 also is wanted in Oregon on sexual assault charges involving a minor. He also served prison time in Idaho for child molestation in the late 1970s. He then lived in Brazil, and was extradited from there to Idaho again in the late 1980s to serve more time, Cornfield said.

Police believe he may have victims in Brazil and Mexico.