Editor’s note: This story was originally published July 11 and updated July 12 with new information from the Berkeley Police Department.
Berkeley police have arrested a swim instructor they believe may have sexually assaulted several children and are asking any other potential victims to contact them, they announced Thursday.
Detectives in the department’s Youth Services Unit opened an investigation into 25-year-old Tyler R. Livingston “after receiving information last week from several parents who brought forward concerns surrounding their children’s interactions with the suspect,” according to a statement posted to the department’s social media pages and sent by email Thursday.
On Thursday, Berkeley police arrested Livingston, who had an active warrant for sexual assault, in Emeryville, police said. They also searched “an address associated with Livingston.” They did not specify whether the warrant was tied to the allegations from the children’s parents.
“The search warrant of the residence revealed evidence about the crimes being investigated, along with an unregistered firearm and possession of a controlled substance,” Berkeley police spokesperson Officer Jessica Perry said in an email Friday. When police arrested Livingston, they had already found “five male victims under the age of 10,” Perry said.
Police asked potential victims or anyone who knows someone “who may have been affected by Livingston” to call the Youth Services Unit at (510) 981-5715. “Your information could be crucial to our ongoing investigation,” Perry said.
“Livingston has worked as a swim instructor in the Bay Area over the past few years and may have spent some time as a substitute teacher,” the Thursday statement read. “BPD wants victims and their families to know that they are not alone and encourage them to contact police.”
As of Friday afternoon Livingston was being held without bail at the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin on suspicion of five felony sex crimes, possession of a large-capacity magazine and drug possession while armed, according to jail records. He is scheduled for arraignment Monday at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office had not formally charged Livingston as of Friday, according to court records.
