Wichita ? A 47-year-old registered sex offender is jailed in Wichita on suspicion of 72 counts of sex crimes against children.

Wichita police say the man was arrested Tuesday in a crime that might involve the mother of his alleged victims.

Police Lt. Doug Nolte says the man is suspected of abusing two girls, who currently are 12 and 13, for several years.

He says police are investigating allegations that the girls’ mother brought them to Wichita from Kansas City, Kan., so the man could have sex with them.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the suspect was convicted in September 2002 of lewd and lascivious behavior against a 12-year-old. He has been listed on the state’s sex offender registry since August 2006, and is required to register until August 2021.