An accused California pedophile who allegedly targeted single mothers to date while molesting their children was caught hiding out in Montana — after more than two years on the run.
David Paul Wilson, 41, was dragged back Monday to San Luis Obispo County, where he allegedly connected with the women in order to get close to their children, the sheriff’s department said.
Officers found out in late July that Wilson was living near Helena, Montana, more than 1,300 miles from where he is accused of raping several children under the age of 15.
It is unclear how many victims Wilson targeted, but police said “multiple” juveniles came forward with likely more that have yet to make contact with police.
“The abuse happened during the span of several years,” the department said.
Detectives with the Sheriff’s Special Victims Unit began investigating Wilson in February 2021 when one of his victims reported him for sexual assault.
It took two more months before officers were granted an arrest warrant, by which time Wilson had already fled the area with no signs of where he was headed.
At the time of his disappearance, officers warned that he had a history of living throughout the entire state of California, but was also known to sometimes live a “transient” lifestyle.
He faces a whopping 16 charges of child molestation — six counts of aggravated sexual assault of a minor; six counts of sexual acts with a child under the age of 10; and four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, court records show.
He is being held on a $6 million bail.
