A 63-year-old California man may have molested hundreds of children in three countries, police said Thursday.

Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller of San Jose was arrested in Washington state in May.

When police searched his home, they found handwritten and computer records listing more than 36,000 children's names, many accompanied by notations apparently indicating sexual crimes committed against them.

Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller after his arrest in May. (AP photo / Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)
Dean Arthur Schwartzmiller after his arrest in May. (AP photo / Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office)

Most of the suspected victims were boys.

"If one-tenth of these numbers are accurate, we're looking at hundreds of victims in a number of states," San Jose Police Lt. Scott Cornfield told a news conference Thursday.

"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," he said.

Schwartzmiller had previously been arrested on charges of molesting children in six states: New York, Idaho, Oregon, California, Arkansas and Washington.

He served time after being convicted in Idaho, and is also suspected of committing crimes against children in Mexico and Brazil.

Schwartzmiller is being held without bail on seven sex-related counts, with each count involving multiple alleged victims.