Ex-UC Berkeley worker suspected of hiding camera in campus bathroom and filming women

A former UC Berkeley employee has been arrested on suspicion of hiding a camera inside a locker room bathroom and filming more than 100 women, police said Friday.

Joseph Rajko Barbir, 49, was arrested Thursday after police found evidence on his work computer connecting him to the hidden camera, UC Berkeley Police Sgt. Andrew Tucker said. He faces at least two dozen charges of invasion of privacy and charges related to filming two underage girls. Barbir was released on $145,000 bail, Tucker said.

The camera was concealed in a bogus power outlet, facing a toilet inside the women’s locker room bathroom in the Unit 1 Residence Hall’s central building, he said. The building houses the university’s Academic Services Center, offices and meeting rooms.

“It’s embarrassing,” Tucker said. “People were recorded in a very private moment.”

The camera probably was placed in the bathroom a few days before it was discovered May 8 by a woman who became suspicious of the outlet.

Before the camera was found, detectives believe Barbir posted several signs on another bathroom facility. The signs advised women that the bathroom was not functioning and directed them to the locker room, where the camera had been filming.

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Shortly after the camera was discovered, Barbir resigned, Tucker said. Barbir oversaw maintenance and repairs for the university’s fire alarm system, he said.

Police believe more than 100 women were filmed, but have been able to identify only two dozen victims, Tucker said.

“This day and age, we want to people to be aware that this could happen,” he said.

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