Whittier

A former group supervisor at Fred C. Nelles School in Whittier has been charged with sexually assualting nine teen-age wards at the California Youth Authority correctional facility, police said.

Anthony Leroy Berkhalter, 28, was arrested shortly after 7 a.m. Sept. 25 as he was leaving his Pomona home. The suspect has been charged with nine counts of sexual abuse and two counts of sodomy involving nine Nelles school wards, ages 16 to 18, Whittier police Sgt. Charles Plummer said. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 9 in Whittier Municipal Court.

Berkhalter was a night supervisor responsible for overseeing dormitories, Nelles Supt. Greg Zermeno said. School officials began investigating the suspect in early September, and he resigned before the investigation was completed, Zermeno said. No other employees are under investigation. Nelles school houses 600 boys ages 15 to 18.