Convicted Molester Charged With Abusing 2nd Daughter

A former Orange County man who faces a prison sentence for molesting a 12-year-old daughter has been charged with 43 counts of sexual assault in connection with the molestation of another daughter, authorities said Wednesday.

Frank Welte, 34, of Victorville, who pleaded guilty last month in San Bernardino County on a separate sexual assault charge involving the 12-year-old, was being held in the San Bernardino County Jail. Bail on the second set of charges in Orange County has been set at $250,000.

The Orange County charges stemmed from an investigation made by Victorville police after Welte’s estranged wife brought in their 12-year-old daughter to file a complaint against Welte, said Brea Police Detective Randy Smeal.

During the investigation, the couple’s 14-year-old daughter accused her father of molesting her during the past four years in Yorba Linda, Tustin, Orange and Brea, Smeal said.

“The older child related to her mother that this had gone on for a while,” Victorville Police Detective Dave Martin said.

“Originally, there were over 100 charges against (Welte) in Orange County,” Smeal said. “But, based upon the investigation of those allegations, the district attorney’s office whittled them down to something workable.”

According to Martin, Welte had moved to Victorville two weeks before his Nov. 8 arrest to work as a repairman at an apartment complex.

“Apparently, (the 12-year-old) was assisting him in moving over the weekend” when the assault took place, Martin said.

Welte’s sentencing on the Victorville charge is set for Dec. 17 in San Bernardino County Superior Court. He faces three years in state prison, said a district attorney’s spokesman.

Welte’s arraignment on the Orange County charges is pending the sentencing, Smeal said.