Lewd conduct suspect arrested after Berkeley High reports
Students who saw a man exposing and touching himself outside BHS alerted police and school authorities Thursday, police said.
Police arrested a man who was seen "exposing himself and engaging in a lewd act" outside Berkeley High School this week, authorities report.
Principal Juan Raygoza emailed parents Thursday afternoon about the arrest.
"Today we received a report of an unidentified adult community member exposing himself and engaging in a lewd act in front of a group of BHS students off campus during 4th period near Allston Way and Harold Way," he wrote.
Raygoza said students "immediately notified the Berkeley Police Department as well as school administrators."
Read more about BHS campus safety in Berkeley.
Berkeley police responded quickly and arrested the man, who was identified in booking records as 30-year-old Damien Alder.
"When a student reports an incident of sexual harassment or assault during the school day, we closely work with law enforcement and provide supportive measures to our student, and issue an advisory alert to the community," Raygoza wrote. "We rely on our BHS community to say something when they see something in order to keep our students safe."
Police received a similar report about Alder on Wednesday but were unable to find him when they looked for him, authorities said.
As of publication time, Alder remained in custody with a bail of $20,000, according to court records.
He has no prior court cases in Alameda County and is scheduled for arraignment Monday, according to online records.
