John G. Schmitz - Extramarital Affair and Fall-out

Extramarital Affair and Fall-out

Early in 1982, John George Stuckle, an infant born on June 10, 1981, was treated at an Orange County hospital for an injured penis. A piece of hair was wrapped so tightly around the organ—"in a square knot," according to one doctor—that it was almost severed. The surgery went well and the baby suffered no permanent injury. However, the baby's mother, Carla Stuckle, a 43-year-old Swedish-born immigrant and longtime Republican volunteer, wasn't allowed to take John George home since some of the attending doctors were convinced the hair had been deliberately tied around his penis. Detectives threatened to arrest Carla and take John George away permanently unless she identified the father. Carla then identified Schmitz as John George's father.

During a custody hearing, Schmitz acknowledged fathering John George out of wedlock. He was also the father of Carla's daughter, Eugenie. The admission effectively ended his political career, though he made a quixotic run for the 38th Congressional District in 1984. He was defeated by former Congressman Bob Dornan in the Republican primary 65% to 11%, with another candidate earning 24%. Dornan would go on to defeat Democratic incumbent Rep. Jerry Patterson in November.

Schmitz's affair also ended his wife Mary's career as a political commentator on television, where she advocated from the conservative position on the political roundtable debate show Free for All. (Before entering television, Mary had already become known as the "West Coast Phyllis Schlafly", having campaigned vigorously against Equal Rights Amendment.) He and Mary briefly separated over the affair but reconciled.

Schmitz never financially supported nor helped raise his two children with Carla Stuckle. When the detective investigating the possible child abuse claim against Stuckle confronted Schmitz about fathering John George, Schmitz confirmed parentage and reportedly told the officer, "I do not and will not support him financially. It is her responsibility to take care of him." Stuckle was not charged with any crime, and authorities returned John George to her care. Stuckle raised both John George and Eugenie on her own, working long hours at two different jobs. In 1994, when John George and Eugenie were 11 and 13 respectively, Carla Stuckle succumbed to complications from diabetes after a longtime battle against the disease. As Schmitz did not want custody, Mary Schmitz's close friend, high-profile astologer and psychic Jeane Dixon (whom both President Richard Nixon and Nancy Reagan consulted while they were each in the White House), took in the children. When Dixon died in 1997, the children became wards of the state and went to an orphanage.