Police make arrest in 1975 molestation

Deepa Bharath

NEWPORT BEACH -- Police arrested a 72-year-old Newport Beach man

Tuesday on suspicion of molesting a teenager 26 years ago, officials

said.

The victim, now a 40-year-old Oregon resident, came forward recently

and provided Newport Beach detectives with leads that led to the arrest

of Bruce Knight Cleworth, Sgt. Steve Shulman said.

Police arrested Cleworth at his home in the 3000 block of Broad

Street, he said. There, officers also found a pipe bomb, Shulman said.

He was scheduled to be arraigned at Harbor Justice Center on a charge

of possessing a destructive device. But the arraignment was postponed to

Jan. 3.

Shulman said the Orange County district attorney will look at the

evidence and is expected to file charges in the alleged molestation case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jana Hoffmann, who will prosecute the case, is on

vacation, he said.

Shulman said he cannot release information about the circumstances of

the incident that allegedly happened in 1975 or discuss the evidence.

He said it is not uncommon for victims of sexual crimes to come

forward several years later.

“It has been happening more often than before, in the last 10 years or

so,” Shulman said.

He said it could be because young victims usually “feel guilty”

initially and blame themselves for the incident.

“But as they grow older, maybe they realize they did nothing wrong,”

Shulman said.

He said it is unclear what Cleworth did for a living when the alleged

incident occurred. It is also unknown if there were additional victims,

he said.

Based on the statute of limitations, the case will remain active until

a year from the date the victim came forward with the information,

Shulman said.

Cleworth is being held in Orange County jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.

Anybody with information about the incident, as well as those who

believe they may have been victims, is asked to call Det. Tom Monarch at

(949) 644-3790.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .