Riverside Man Who Worked With Disabled Adults Arrested On Suspicion Of Sexual Battery

RIVERSIDE (CBSLA) - The former head of organizations geared to aiding developmentally disabled adults in the Riverside metropolitan area is suspected of sexually assaulting several of them, authorities said Wednesday.

Alan Clyde Schwerdt, 71, of Riverside, was arrested and booked into the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside Tuesday on suspicion of sexual battery and abuse of a dependent adult. Bail information was not immediately available.

According to Riverside police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, the alleged assaults occurred between 2015 and 2020, coming to light last year, which prompted an investigation by the police department's Sexual Assault-Child Abuse -- SACA -- Unit.

The exact number of victims and how the alleged acts were perpetrated were not disclosed.

Railsback alleged that Schwerdt met the victims by way of his position as director of the now-defunct Career Development Institute on Spruce Street in Riverside, and while director of Ability Counts, which operates three offices -- 775 Trademark Circle in Corona, 1967 Essex Court in Redlands and 381 Main St. in Riverside.

Detectives are searching for individuals who may have come into contact with the suspect and possibly were abused, according to the police spokesman.

Anyone with information was asked to contact SACA investigators at 951-353-7950.

(© Copyright 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)