Beer Heir Found Guilty of Assaulting Daughter, Her Friend

Walter David Tallmadge, heir to the Schlitz beer fortune, was found guilty in Santa Monica Superior Court Tuesday of 15 counts of sexually assaulting two children--his daughter and a friend of the family, now 19--between 1989 and 1994.

Tallmadge, 65, the great-grandson of former Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co. President Henry Uihlein, has been incarcerated in Los Angeles County Jail since 1995. He was tried in the case in October 1996, but the jury could not reach a verdict.

Over the last two weeks a new jury has heard old testimony from women, ranging in ages from 27 to 40, who alleged that they were assaulted by Tallmadge as minors.

Tallmadge was convicted of sexual assaults with minors in Wisconsin in 1959 and 1985. In 1986 he spent two years in California prison for statutory rape.

Tallmadge has maintained his innocence throughout the trial, according to his attorney, Leonard Levine, who said he plans to appeal the case. Tallmadge faces 60 to 100 years in prison. He is scheduled for sentencing July 2.