NO VICTIMS ACCUSING former Congressional representative Eric Swalwell have come forward so far with accusations of sexual assault in Alameda County, District Attorney Ursula Jones Dickson said Thursday. 

Jones Dickson also encouraged possible survivors to reach out to her office directly or contact the Alameda County Family Justice Center, which helps crime victims access services and navigate the legal system.

“Resources are available to you at the Family Justice Center and justice is available to you at the District Attorney’s Office,” she said during a news conference at her offices in Oakland. “We don’t judge or bully victims.”

Jones Dickson also warned people away from a hotline set up by former district attorney Pamela Price to help any potential victims report such crimes.

“So it has recently come to my attention that there’s some advertisement about a hotline for victims that are related to the allegations against Representative Swalwell to call,” Jones Dickson said.

“I want to caution people about calling random hotlines. That is not a law enforcement hotline so making a call to that hotline does not mean that you’re making a report to law enforcement,” she said.

Because the hotline is run by a private entity, the information people might reveal to whoever answers the phone isn’t confidential, including names and other personal details, according to Jones Dickson.

“We also don’t know who’s on the other side of the hotline and whether or not they respect your privacy and why they’re doing this at all,” she said.

She added that people who report crimes this way will likely have to tell their stories all over again once an actual law enforcement agency gets involved.

Swalwell resigned from office and dropped out of the California gubernatorial race last week amid accusations of sexual assault by multiple women and now criminal investigations are underway in Los Angeles and New York.

Former Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Castro Valley, talks with reporters after holding a town hall meeting in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

He has denied all allegations against him.

The formerly influential East Bay politician started his carrier as an Alameda County prosecutor under former district attorney Nancy O’Malley, where Jones Dickson also worked before being appointed to a Superior Court judgeship.

Price, who was removed from office by voters in a 2024 recall election, is running against Jones Dickson in the June 2 election to once again lead the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. 

Political clash over hotline

On Wednesday, Price announced that she had set up a hotline for anyone who might have been abused by Swalwell and alleged that Jones Dickson has a conflict of interest in any potential investigations.

“We have heard nothing from our interim district attorney for at least a week,” Price said at the time. “Survivors should not have to wait for justice while the interim district attorney sits on the sidelines and evaluates the situation.”

Price said she strongly suspects there are additional Swalwell victims in the county who have been afraid to come forward given his long political tenure and ties to people like O’Malley and former sheriff Greg Ahern, which would have made the former congressman seem “untouchable.” 

Jones Dickson is “unable or unwilling” to launch an investigation because she’s either too close to Swalwell or his political supporters, Price said, while at the same time calling for Jones Dickson to pass any such investigation onto state prosecutors.  

Jones Dickson said that because there’s currently no active investigation involving any alleged victims, she’s in no position to have a conflict of interest. 

“As it relates to whether or not our office would handle a case if we had a victim in front of us, that is an evaluation I need to make in real time,” she said. 

Additionally, Jones Dickson said her office is “doing the background work to make sure there’s nothing that we didn’t know that we should have known” and is communicating with relevant law enforcement agencies in case other victims do come forward “so that they are not traumatized over and over and over again by multiple law enforcement agencies having to ask them to tell their story.”

She also reiterated the rights that victims of sexual assault and abuse have under the law, including the right to be informed that their name will become a matter of public record unless they ask that it stay confidential and that they have the right to be named “Jane Doe” in all public documents and complaints.

“We also don’t know who’s on the other side of the hotline and whether or not they respect your privacy and why they’re doing this at all.”

Alameda County DA Ursula Jones Dickson

Additionally, law enforcement officers are required to inform sexual assault victims that they are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or to receive a medical evidentiary or physical exam in order to retain their rights under the law.

Jones Dickson said it can take years for victims to come forward and the law prohibits people from being forced to do so before they’re ready.

She encouraged potential victims who are ready to reach out to her office directly at (510) 272-6222 or the Family Justice Center at (510) 267-8800 or by visiting www.acfjc.org.

“We need them to know that their privacy and their agency will be protected by this office at all costs,” she said. 

Kiley Russell writes primarily for Local News Matters on issues related to equity and the environment. A Bay Area native, he has lived most of his life in Oakland. He studied journalism at San Francisco State University, worked for the Associated Press and the former Contra Costa Times, among other outlets. He has covered everything from state legislatures, local governments, federal and state courts, crime, growth and development, political campaigns of various stripes, wildfires and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.