Indian doctor arrested in US for taking photos and videos of naked children and adults

PTI, Aug 21, 2024, 4:13 PM IST

Washington: A 40-year-old Indian doctor was held in a US jail on a Rs 16 crore ($2 million) bond after being charged with multiple sex crimes for allegedly recording hundreds of nude images and videos of children and women over several years, according to media reports.

Oumair Aejaz was arrested earlier on August 8 after he allegedly placed hidden cameras in a variety of settings from bathrooms, changing areas, hospital rooms, and even his own home where he would record children as young as 2 years old in varying states of undress, Fox News reported.

Authorities became aware of his offences after his wife came forward with disturbing materials. Before his arrest, he had no criminal history.

He also allegedly recorded sexual encounters with numerous women who were unconscious or asleep, the Oakland County Sheriff said on Tuesday.

The magnitude of Aejaz’s offences is not currently known, but Sheriff Mike Bouchard said it will take months to fully investigate. Authorities suspect there could be many more victims as investigators review thousands of videos found at his home in Rochester Hills, a city in Oakland County in the US state of Michigan.

“The victimisation is so broad and the perversion so great, we’re just beginning to wrap our arms around it,” he said. “Disturbing on so many levels.” He equated the scale of criminality to Larry Nasser, the disgraced sports doctor convicted of abusing dozens of young women in his care.

Several search warrants have been served since Aejaz was arrested on August 8 at his home. They include computers, phones, and 15 external devices. Bouchard said a single hard drive had 13,000 videos on it.

He may have uploaded videos into cloud storage as well.

Aejaz was charged on August 13 with one count of child sexually abusive activity, four counts of capturing an image of an unclothed person and five counts of using a computer to commit a crime and is being held in the Oakland County Jail on a Rs 16 crore ($2 million) bond, Detroit Free Press reported.

Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said Aejaz’s wife produced materials earlier this month that were concerning and the sheriff’s office immediately executed a search warrant and confiscated more devices. She said investigators have “sifted through really jarring, alarming images” and continue to do so.

McDonald said Aejaz also preyed on well-respected institutions and hospitals, which she said have been cooperative.

Many of the allegations stem from Aejaz allegedly recording a mother and her kids inside a changing room at the Goldfish Swimming Club in 2023. However, he is also believed to have assaulted patients inside hospital rooms.

“These are children and moms at a swim school,” McDonald said. “They’re there to teach their kids to swim. Because that brings their kids joy and because they want their kids to be safe around water. They were victimised by a person of trust in the community – a medical doctor.”

His work history shows he was employed at Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township and Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc. His current employment was as a physician contracted with a company that would send him to different hospitals.

Before that, he moved to the US in 2011 on a work visa from India, where he is a citizen. His residency took place at Sinai Grace Hospital before spending time in Alabama. He returned to Michigan in 2018.

Due to the number of victims and the difficulty identifying them, police have provided an email that people can use to contact the authorities.