Mark Tindall, who once lived in Volcano, was arrested for numerous sex crimes that occured in Amador between 1986 and 1995. One of Tindall's victims finally came forward and reported him after Tindall attempted to contact the victim on Facebook. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

For victims of sexual abuse, online social networking sites can reopen nightmares from the past.

That was recently the case for a man contacted on Facebook by a retired correctional officer the man says molested him in Amador County when he was a boy. Now, law enforcement is seeking justice in the case on behalf of the man and two other victims.

On Jan. 19, the Amador County Sheriff's Office announced that it had arrested Mark Steve Tindall, formerly of Volcano. Tindall is charged with numerous sexual crimes against a minor. He was working as a substitute bus driver for Elk Grove Unified School District at the time of his arrest.

The investigation against Tindall began when sheriff's detectives were contacted by a 35-year-old man who said Tindall committed sex crimes against him between 1986 and 1988. The man was 13 when the alleged acts occurred. Tindall, who has worked at Mule Creek State Prison in the past, was the father of his friend. The victim told detectives that the crimes happened at Tindall's home in Volcano and other locations in Amador County. According to the victim, Tindall brought out a handgun and warned the boy that he and his family would be harmed if the truth ever came out.

The victim took those threats from a prison guard seriously, never going to law enforcement for help.

It was 22 years later, after Tindall attempted to contact the victim on the popular networking site, Facebook, that sheriff's detectives learned what had happened.

According to Amador County Undersheriff Jim Wegner, investigators obtained a recorded conversation between Tindall and the now-adult victim. Wegner said the recording contains "incriminating statements" from Tindall, including attempts to apologize.

On Jan. 13, detectives showed up at Elk Grove Unified School District and arrested Tindall. Next, they searched his current home in Sacramento, seizing his computer, digital camera, videos, photographs and other evidence.

In the course of their investigation, sheriffs' personnel found two more individuals who told them they had been molested by Tindall between 1986 and 1995. Tindall didn't leave Amador County until 2005, after retiring from the California Department of Corrections.

Tindall is currently in the Amador County Jail. He's charged with two counts of lewd acts with a child under 14, two counts of oral copulation with a child under 14 and sodomy with a child under 14.

Wegner said the Amador County Sheriff's Office is deeply concerned that Tindall may have molested more children than his officers yet know about. He urged anyone with information about the possible existence of other victims to call his office at 223-6500.