Berkeley police arrested a 35-year-old Oakland man on October 30 after detectives said he used hidden cameras to record up women's skirts at businesses near UC Berkeley's South Campus, and investigators now believe he may have targeted additional victims during the weeks before his arrest.
The case began on October 26, according to the Berkeley Police Department, when a teenage girl reported that a man used a concealed camera to record up her skirt while she waited in line at Lox Stock and Bagel at 2043 Allston Way. The report set off a Sex Crimes Unit investigation that would stretch across several South Campus blocks over the following days.
A Shoe-Mounted Camera and a Tip From a Passerby
Just days later, a passerby spotted a man near Durant Avenue and Bowditch Street who appeared to be recording up women's skirts using a camera attached to his shoe, and alerted an officer, the department's Facebook post states. Officers who responded recovered a discarded mini camera near the suspect, according to the same account.
Detectives did not stop there. On October 29, they discovered a second, stationary camera concealed inside the Taco Bell Cantina at 2528 Durant Avenue, per the department's post. The discovery of a second hidden device at a separate location suggested the alleged conduct was not confined to a single encounter.
Search Warrant Executed at Oakland Home
With the pattern emerging, detectives served a search warrant at the suspect's Oakland residence and seized several electronic devices, the Berkeley Police Department said. The 35-year-old man was arrested on October 30, closing out a four-day span between the initial report and his detention.
Investigators believe the suspect may have secretly recorded additional victims while frequenting the South Campus area over several weeks, per the department's account. That belief is the basis for police now asking the public for help rather than an indication that more victims have already been identified.
How This Compares to a Past UC Berkeley Case
Hidden-camera investigations tied to the campus area are not unprecedented. In 2015, a former UC Berkeley employee, identified by the Los Angeles Times as Joseph Rajko Barbir, was arrested after police found evidence on his work computer connecting him to a camera hidden in a fake power outlet facing a toilet inside a women's locker-room bathroom at Unit 1 Residence Hall. In that case, the Times reported, police believed more than 100 women had been filmed but had identified only two dozen victims at the time, and Barbir ultimately faced at least two dozen invasion-of-privacy charges along with charges tied to filming two underage girls.
California's Penal Code includes a section, 647, that covers certain disorderly conduct offenses, according to California Legislative Information. The statutory excerpt does not establish which offense, if any, applies to the current Berkeley investigation, and no information about charges in this case has been made public.
What Investigators Are Asking From the Public
Berkeley police have not released the suspect's name or any statement from him, and the status of any prosecution remains unknown. The department has listed the case under number 2026-00047904 and is directing anyone with information, including possible additional victims, to contact the Berkeley Police Department Sex Crimes Unit at 510-981-5735.
