SLO man suspected of child abuse arrested in Montana after years on the run, sheriff says

A San Luis Obispo man accused of multiple counts of child molestation was arrested in Montana after more than two years in hiding, according to the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.

An arrest warrant was originally issued for David Paul Wilson in April 2021, the agency said in a news release Monday.

That February, detectives with the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Victims Unit received a report that Wilson had sexually assaulted a juvenile, the agency said then.

As detectives investigated, more juvenile victims were identified in connection to abuse happening over the span of several years, the Sheriff’s Office said.

“Wilson fled the area before the arrest warrant was issued and was unable to be located,” the Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

On July 28, the Sheriff’s Office learned that Wilson, now 41, was living in the Helena, Montana, area, the release said.

According to the release, Wilson was taken into custody by the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office on July 30, and he was transported to San Luis Obispo County Jail on Aug. 17.

Wilson was arrested on suspicion of multiple charges of sexual acts with a child under the age of 10, aggravated sexual assault of a minor, and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14, the SLO County Sheriff’s Office said.

In the release, the Sheriff’s Office thanked the Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office and the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office for “their assistance in apprehending Wilson and transporting him back to this jurisdiction.”