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A youth volleyball coach who has run programs throughout the Tri-Valley was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing child pornography, Dublin police announced late Friday afternoon.
Aditya “Ted” Babu was arrested Wednesday in the parking lot of Pleasanton Middle School, where he was on his way to a summer coaching session, according to Dublin Police Services. He subsequently posted bail while a charging decision is pending.
“The investigation remains ongoing, and DPS has seized dozens of electronic devices that are pending forensic examination,” Capt. Miguel Campos said in a news release.
It was not immediately clear whether Babu, 46, is represented by an attorney.
Campos noted that Babu’s Club V.I.P. operated programs in Pleasanton, San Ramon, Livermore, Dublin, Union City and Newark – mainly for youth of middle school age and often facilitated in partnership with local parks and recreation agencies.
Pleasanton city officials issued a public statement Friday, about 15 minutes before the DPS emailed its news release to local media, distancing itself from an independent volleyball coaching contractor who’d been arrested – without identifying Babu by name nor specifying the alleged crimes.
“The City is in the process of terminating his contract and is taking appropriate steps to ensure he has no further involvement in City recreation activities,” the statement read, in part.
“At this time, the Pleasanton Police Department has no information indicating that any crimes related to this investigation occurred within the City of Pleasanton,” the city stated. “The City of Pleasanton remains committed to the safety and well-being of all participants in its recreation programs and will continue to cooperate with Dublin Police Services as appropriate.”
Dublin police began investigating Babu after receiving multiple cyber-tips from the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, according to Campos. Local detectives then allegedly determined that one of Babu’s Google accounts contained multiple images of child pornography, which established probable cause for his arrest.
Campos pointed out that prosecutors had not charged Babu as of Friday, but police officials felt it was important to highlight the investigation publicly.
“Given the nature of the alleged charges and Babu’s close association with youth — including his organization’s apparent partnerships with multiple cities’ Parks and Recreation departments — DPS is releasing this information to inform the affected communities,” Campos said.
“DPS emphasizes that Babu has only been arrested for the alleged offense but has not yet been formally charged by the District Attorney’s Office, and that further investigation is needed before any charging decision is made. He has since posted bail and is no longer in custody,” Campos added.
Pleasanton officials said that no more volleyball classes were scheduled with the city this year.
Babu had prior ties to the Pleasanton Unified School District as well, including as junior varsity girls’ volleyball coach at Foothill High School and, according to Transparent California, as a classified substitute for the district in 2014.
A professional resume for Babu online says he served as the head JV girls’ coach from 2009-13, and had shorter stints as freshman girls’ head coach at Amador Valley High School in 2014-15 and at San Ramon Valley High School in 2007-08, as well as being a freshman team assistant for Granada High School in 2004-05.
The Club V.I.P. website was no longer active as of Sunday night.
Anyone with information related to the investigation can contact Dublin police Sgt. John White at 925-833-6670.
