Bay Area man accused of secretly recording adults, children in bathrooms
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's deputies arrested a man on Friday for allegedly installing cameras in various locations to secretly record men, women and children.
After receiving a cyber tip, the Sheriff's Office said their Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) Team/Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Unit determined that 21-year-old Millan Chaudhary of Los Gatos had set up hidden video cameras to record people without them knowing.
The cameras were placed in his bathroom while Chaudhary was staying in the dorms at Cal Poly, a home off-campus in San Luis Obispo, and various locations in the San Francisco Bay area and Lake Tahoe. The Sheriff's Office believes Chaudhary set up the cameras before and during his time at Cal Poly.
The camera system recorded multiple unsuspecting women and some men in various states of undress, while showering or going to the bathroom. Some of these victims were adults and some were underage.
On Feb. 20, the SLO Sheriff's Office served a search warrant at Chaudhary's rental home in San Luis Obispo. During the search, investigators seized a phone and computers which they said contained images of child pornography.
Detectives determined Chaudhary had taken still images of the videos he was recording and distributed the images online.
A warrant was issued for Chaudhary's arrest on Aug. 6 and he was arrested the following day after surrendering to authorities.
The Sheriff's Office said Chaudhary posted bail at $600,000 and was released.
Chaudhary is facing 17 felony counts of exhibiting a minor in pornography, one felony count of possession of material depicting a minor engaging in sexual conduct, one felony count of eavesdropping and 21 misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy.
Investigators believe there are a total of 24 victims. All of the incidents involving minors occurred outside of San Luis Obispo County, the sheriff's office said.
It's believed the videos taken in San Luis Obispo County were recorded between February 2019 and February 2020.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office urges anyone who may be a victim or who knows someone who could be a victim to contact Detectives in the Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit at 805-781-4500.
