Deputy Is Accused of Sex Assault

A 42-year-old Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting two adults while on duty, the county district attorney’s office said.

John Wayne Leseberg, a 15-year Sheriff’s Department veteran stationed in Lake Elsinore, was booked in connection with two alleged November 2004 attacks, officials said. They declined to release the gender of the alleged victims.

Authorities did not release additional details, citing an ongoing investigation.

Leseberg was released from the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta on $50,000 bail.

Prosecutors plan to charge him with four felony counts of sexual misconduct. His arraignment is scheduled for May 24.

If convicted, Leseberg could face more than nine years in prison. He has been on paid administrative leave since March 28, a sheriff’s spokesman said.

In 2005, Leseberg was awarded two Sheriff’s Department medals, according to news reports. One was for rescuing a 1-year-old girl from a burning mobile home and subduing her father, who was armed with a saw, and the other was for his involvement in a shootout, the reports said.

Because authorities are uncertain if there are other alleged victims, anyone with more information is asked to call sheriff’s Det. Darin Gray at (951) 696-3000.