The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office arrested a former Cal Poly student last week on suspicion of possessing and distributing child pornography.
Sheriff's officials say they received a cyber tip that 21-year-old Millan Chaudhary of Los Gatos placed a video camera system in his bathroom to record unsuspecting women and men while showering or going to the bathroom.
Investigators say the video system was in place while Chaudhary was in the dorms at Cal Poly, at a home off-campus in San Luis Obispo, and at various locations in the San Francisco Bay Area and Lake Tahoe.
Officials say some of the victims were adults and others were minors.
When detectives served a search warrant at Chaudhary's rental house in San Luis Obispo in February, sheriff's officials say they found a phone and computers that contained images of child pornography. Investigators say Chaudhary was taking still images from his videos and distributing them over the internet.
Chaudhary reportedly surrendered to authorities on Friday, Aug. 7, and was arrested on 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.
The sheriff's office says Chaudhary posted bail of $600,000 and was released.
Officials at Cal Poly say they are cooperating with the sheriff's investigation. When the university was made aware that Chaudhary was under investigation by law enforcement, officials say the matter was referred to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities for a student conduct investigation.
"We can unequivocally state that the safety of the Cal Poly community is of paramount importance, and we can assure our community that Chaudhary is no longer a student at the university," university officials said in a statement released Monday.
Sheriff's officials say the videos taken in San Luis Obispo County were recorded between February 2019 and February 2020. They say all of the incidents involving underage victims occurred outside of San Luis Obispo County.
The sheriff's office says investigators believe there are a total of 24 victims in this case.
Anyone who believes they were a victim or knows someone who may have been a victim is encouraged to contact the Sheriff's Major Crimes Unit at (805) 781-4500.
