*This story has been modified since its original posting
A Carlsbad-based criminal defense attorney was arrested Friday for allegedly filming at least one teenage girl and six women at an Escondido tanning salon without their knowledge, police said.
David Taylor Kaye, who police said lives in San Marcos, was arrested shortly after 8 a.m. on suspicion of 15 felony counts of possession of child pornography and one felony count of possession of a loaded, concealed and unregistered firearm, according to Escondido police Lt. Craig Carter.
The 43-year-old attorney also was arrested on suspicion of four misdemeanor counts of secretly filming a person, four misdemeanor counts of peeking through a private area and one count of destruction of evidence, Carter said.
He was being held Friday evening at the Vista jail in lieu of $388,000 bail.
Kaye has been the subject of a 10-month investigation that started when he was allegedly seen secretly filming women in various stages of undress as they were tanning at a local tanning salon.
"This is something we've not seen before from a defense attorney," the lieutenant said. "It's certainly unprecedented for our area, fortunately."
Carter explained that the investigation took a long time because police had to both identify the victims and convince them to participate in the case against Kaye.
Carter said the owner of the salon, The Tanning Place at 1210 Auto Park Way, contacted police after a patron informed her about the filming.
"It wouldn't have happened without her," Carter said of the owner, whose name was not immediately available.
He added that the salon has since closed.
Kaye has no public record of discipline on the State Bar of California website, www.calbar.ca.gov, which says Kaye was admitted to the Bar in June 1994.
He's run a family law and criminal defense practice since 1995, specializing in DUI cases, according to Kaye's own website, www.attorneykaye.com.
His office is located on the 5000 block of Palmer Way in Carlsbad.
On his website, Kaye said he earned his law degree in 1993 from Western State University, College of Law, in Orange County, and his Bachelor of Arts from UC San Diego in July 1989.
The suspect was initially arrested April 19 and charged with four misdemeanor counts of secretly filming a person, according to Carter.
On July 22, Escondido police served a search warrant on Kaye's house and business and recovered additional evidence, Carter said.
Since then, police have been working closely with the district attorney's office and a court-appointed special master for the investigation because of Kaye's occupation, Carter said.
More evidence allegedly found on Kaye's computers and phones led to his arrest and the additional charges today, according to the lieutenant.
Seven alleged victims have been identified, including a 15-year-old girl, but police believe there may be more. Carter encouraged anyone with information about the case to call San Diego County Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477. Anonymous e-mail and text messages can be sent in via www.sdcrimestoppers.com.
Staff writer Chris Nichols and North County Times wire services contributed to this report.
CLARIFICATION: Conflicting information about salon given
The location of the tanning salon where the alleged criminal acts took place is 1210 Auto Park Way. The original version of this story said police did not specify the location of the salon, and also included the address of the salon.
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