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BERKELEY — A San Leandro man who works as a chef for UC Berkeley has been charged with possessing hundreds of child pornography files, including some he allegedly filmed during a video chat with young girls living in Vietnam and the Philippines, court records show.
Gregory Andrade, 56, was charged Nov. 17 with possessing more than 600 images of child pornography, as well as two felony counts of using a minor for sex acts. The two latter charges stem from video chats on Feb. 26 and March 5, according to police.
The investigation started with a cybertip from Yahoo about suspicious activity on Andrade’s email account to San Leandro police, which led to a digital search of Andrade’s devices, a police investigator said in court records. That search unveiled “a video chat (videos include the screen showing Andrade) with prepubescent female juvenile victims in the Philippines and Vietnam,” Det. Ted Mund wrote in a probable cause statement filed in court.
During a police interview, Andrade admitted to possessing and recording the files, blaming it on his abusive childhood and intoxication, according to police. He was arrested Nov. 15 at the UC Berkeley cafe where he works, the International House. Before working at UC Berkeley he was employed at Cal State East Bay, and before that at Washington Hospital in Fremont, according to court records.
Andrade has pleaded not guilty and was released from custody in late November, court records show.
Originally published at Nate Gartrell