kgw.com photo/police mugshot

Daniel Symonds.

A Portland youth volunteer was being held on $20 million bail on charges that that he sexually assaulted three boys -- one of whom he met through a local mentor program, police said Monday.

Daniel Symonds, 43, was lodged in the Multnomah County jail, charged with 10 counts each of sodomy and child sexual abuse. The three boys he is accused of molesting range in age from 8 to 15, police said.

Detectives said their investigation began last month when one boy came forward with allegations that Symonds molested him a few years ago.

The police probe into that case "identified two additional victims," who were friends of the first boy, said Sgt. Brian Schmautz.

Symonds met the first victim while serving as a so-called 'big brother' through Portland Impact, a group which operates a mentorship program, Schmautz said.

The group is not connected or affiliated with Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Metropolitan Portland. CEO Lynn Thompson said Symonds never had any involvement with her organization, which holds the trademark on the 'Big Brother' name.

A statement from Portland Impact said their organization was cooperating with the police probe.

"Portland Impact takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and does its utmost to protect the welfare of its clients, staff, and volunteers," said spokeswoman Lois Orner.

Orner said all Portland Impact volunteers go through "a rigorous screening process" that includes state and federal criminal background checks, however she declined to comment further on the allegations involving Symonds.

"The allegations stem from incidents that are alleged to have occurred over a decade ago," Orner claimed, saying that volunteer records from that far back are routinely purged by the group -- so there is little in the way of a paper trail on Symonds' activities.

But Schmautz said the charges against Symonds actually stem from events which took place within the past six years, which is the limitation under state law for authorities to file molestation charges.

Police think Symonds may have also volunteered with other civic organizations in recent years, Schmatuz said, and investigators were seeking to talk with any other potential molestation victims.