Molestation plans: Officials are trying to find out why Roberts killed five Amish schoolgirls. [File photo]
Last Update: Wednesday, October 4, 2006. 6:01am (AEST)

School killer planned to molest girls: police

The truck driver who killed five Amish schoolgirls meant to molest them first and had confessed to sexually preying on young relatives 20 years ago, police say.

State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller says Charles Roberts, 32, was also "angry with God", hated himself over the death of his premature infant daughter nine years ago and dreamed of molesting again.

The sordid revelations come hours after two Amish girls, aged seven and eight, died of their wounds after they were shot "execution-style" in the head.

It is the third fatal shooting in a US school in a week and five girls from the peace-loving Amish community are still in a critical condition in hospital.

Commissioner Miller says with meticulous planning, Roberts took wood, latches and a lubricant to the one-room Pennsylvania schoolhouse, indicating an intent to restrain and molest the schoolgirls before killing them.

"With the kind of wood and I-bolts and flex cuffs and KY jelly and other things, ... it's very possible that he intended to victimise these children in many ways prior to executing them and killing himself," he said.

"The KY jelly has no exact reason other than the potential for a sexual assault."

Commissioner Miller says Roberts had confessed to the past sexual assaults in a mobile phone call to his wife minutes before the killings.

"He said 'I am not coming home', and he states 'I molested some minor family members that were three- or four-years-old, 20 years ago'," Commissioner Miller said.

Roberts would have been about 12 at the time.

"It's unknown what type of molestation whether it was fondling, or inappropriate touching or sexual assault or if anything occurred, we don't know," the Commissioner said.

"In his suicide note, he mentioned he was having dreams of molesting again."

There is no evidence the schoolhouse victims were molested before Roberts shot them and then turned the gun on himself.

The killer's wife says he was also traumatised by the loss of an infant daughter who lived for just 20 minutes after birth nine years ago.

"Roberts was angry with God for taking (her) as outlined in the suicide note," Commissioner Miller said.

Child escaped

Commissioner Miller says a nine-year-old managed to escape from the schoolhouse before Roberts started shooting.

The seven-year-old victim died after being removed from life support at Penn State Hershey Medical Centre in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The other girl died in a hospital in Delaware state.

Three girls, aged eight, 10 and 12, have undergone surgery for gunshot wounds at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, and remain in a critical condition.

Two survivors at the Hershey Medical Centre are a six-year-old in critical condition and a 13-year-old listed in serious condition.

President George W Bush says he and wife Laura are "saddened and deeply concerned" like other Americans over a string of school shootings in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Wisconsin.

"We grieve with the parents and we share the concerns of those who worry about safety in schools," he said.

Mr Bush says his Government is planning talks on school safety next week.

- AFP