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A security guard at Stanford Shopping Center has been charged with possessing more than 600 images and videos of child sex abuse material and using Macy’s security cameras to peep on prepubescent girls.
On April 7, 20-year-old Menlo Park resident Bernardo Garcia was arrested by the Palo Alto Police Department after an eight-month investigation. According to police, Garcia admitted to possessing the illegal media, and investigators found evidence that he used Macy’s security cameras to zoom in on underage girls walking through the department store.
Garcia was charged with felony possession of more than 600 obscene images of minors and two misdemeanor counts of using a concealed camera to invade someone’s privacy.
The department began investigating Garcia after Google told the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children on Oct. 10, 2024 his account may have been distributing or storing child sex abuse material. The center contacted the Palo Alto Police Department nearly a year later on Aug. 19, 2025, after determining that at least some of the alleged activity occurred in Palo Alto.
Google provided the Palo Alto Police Department with identifying information, including Garcia’s email addresses and phone number. Palo Alto police detective Daniel Andrade wrote that he recognized Garcia as a loss prevention officer for Macy’s at Stanford Shopping Center whom he had previously worked with. A loss prevention officer is responsible for preventing and investigating retail theft and coordinating with law enforcement.
On Oct. 22, 2025, police executed a search warrant at Garcia’s home in Menlo Park, where he lives with his family. According to Andrade, not only did Garcia admit to possessing the images, but he said he was a pedophile and addicted to child sex abuse material. He told police where the images were stored and provided passwords to his devices, the police report said. Garcia told Andrade that he used platforms such as X, previously called Twitter, and the dark web to obtain the material.
Police initially seized 23 electronic devices from Garcia and his family’s home. They kept nine for forensic investigation, which included three cell phones and three electronic storage drives. Although investigators did not review all of the material they contained, Andrade said he confirmed that Garcia possessed at least 600 illegal images, including at least 10 depicting explicit material involving children younger than 12.
Andrade also said he believes there were at least 600 additional videos that likely contained abusive material, based on their file names.
During the review, Andrade said he saw two videos that he recognized as being filmed inside the Macy’s store at Stanford Shopping Center. Both appeared to show footage from a Macy’s security camera that was following young girls shopping in the store and zooming in on their underwear. Prosecutors are alleging that Garcia took the videos for sexual gratification.
After discovering the security camera footage, police informed Macy’s but declined to say whether the licensing board for security guards was notified, Lee said. He added that police were unable to identify the juveniles who were filmed.
“The safety of our customers is always our top priority, and we take matters of this nature extremely seriously. We are cooperating fully with the Palo Alto Police Department’s active investigation and are unable to comment further,” a Macy’s spokesperson said in a statement. The store declined to comment on whether Garcia still worked there or when his employment ended.
Records from the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services show that Garcia’s license expired in September 2025, but police records show he continued working for Macy’s through the end of October. The agency did not respond in time for publication.
Garcia was arraigned on April 8 and released without bail under the condition he allows his electronic devices to be searched. His next hearing is on June 9 in Palo Alto for a plea hearing.
