Andrew Farago, a curator at San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum, was arrested on 20 counts of invasion of privacy after Berkeley police say he secretly filmed birthday party guests using the bathroom at his home — and then sent a written apology to the friends he'd taped. The museum has since terminated his employment.

The June 3 arrest of Farago, a well-known figure in the Bay Area's cartoon and pop culture community, marks a jarring fall for a public-facing arts professional who spent years representing one of SF's most unusual nonprofit cultural institutions. Court papers describe him secretly setting up his phone to capture footage of guests' genitalia — including children — then admitting the act to victims when caught and later emailing them to accept blame.

Andrew Farago had been curator of the Cartoon Art Museum on Beach Street for years, representing the nonprofit at events, on its website, and in the press. That professional profile went dark this month after Berkeley police arrested him on allegations of secretly recording bathroom users at a birthday party he co-hosted at his South Berkeley home.

According to court papers reviewed by the Berkeley Scanner — which broke the story — the alleged incident occurred May 23 during the party. A guest found Farago's cellphone hidden in the bathroom along with footage that, police wrote, showed him placing the phone, concealing it with a towel, and positioning it to record people's genitalia as they used the restroom. Adults and children were among those at the party.

When the woman who found the phone confronted him, Farago "made admissions and also stated that he had deleted the videos" from both the device and cloud storage, according to police.

He then followed up in writing. In an email to party guests — which Berkeley police cited in court papers — Farago described what he did in his own words: "I hid my phone in our bathroom for the purpose of spying on our guests, my closest friends in the world. I had never done anything like that before and don't know what possessed me to do it."

He continued: "This was an inexcusable violation of your privacy and our friendship and I am prepared to face whatever consequences will come from this tremendous lapse in judgement."

Those consequences materialized on June 3, when Berkeley police arrested Farago at his home after securing a warrant alleging 20 counts of invasion of privacy — specifically, using a hidden camera to secretly record someone under their clothing. Officers also executed a search warrant, seizing approximately a dozen electronic devices.

As of the Berkeley Scanner's June 22 report, no formal charges had been filed and police declined to release further details citing the ongoing investigation.

By June 25, Berkeleyside reported that Farago is "no longer employed" by the Cartoon Art Museum. A check of the museum's website confirms he no longer appears in any staff listing. The museum did not respond to a request for comment before publication.

Farago — described on his LinkedIn profile as a pop culture writer and historian in addition to his curator role — did not respond to the Berkeley Scanner's request for comment before their initial story was published.

The Cartoon Art Museum, founded in 1984 with support from Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz, operates as a nonprofit at 781 Beach Street and bills itself as one of the few institutions in the world dedicated to cartoon art across formats. It draws more than 500,000 visitors since inception and hosts classes, exhibitions, and community events — including events aimed at children.

The case is being investigated by Berkeley police. Anyone with relevant information can contact Berkeley police or submit a tip to the Berkeley Scanner.