Michigan doctor accused of filming and abusing ‘broad’ array of victims, including children

By Rebekah Riess, CNN

(CNN) — A physician in Michigan has been arrested on charges relating to filming young children and grown adults in changing rooms at a Rochester swim school, Oakland County authorities announced Tuesday, adding they expect to identify more victims after they say thousands of other videos and images were found on the doctor’s devices, including footage of him assaulting a patient at a hospital.

Dr. Oumair Aejaz has been charged 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, Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a Tuesday news conference.

“This individual potentially is one of the worst I’ve ever seen,” the sheriff said. “Because there’s no particular category. It’s not just children, it’s not just women, it’s not just men. It goes from a 2-year-old to a grown woman. The victimization is so broad, and the perversion so great, that we’re just beginning to wrap our arms around it.”

The charges primarily stem from an incident that happened at a Goldfish Swim School in August 2023, video of which was found on hard drives confiscated from Aejaz earlier this month, authorities said.

“The current charges that we’ve issued from the events that we’ve identified have occurred in Oakland County thus far involve four separate victims,” Oakland County Prosecutor Karen D. McDonald said at the news conference. “The currently charged cases stem from the swim school and it is (involving) a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old and two adult females.”

McDonald later noted the child sexually abusive activity charge is related to material found on Aejaz’s device, not the incident at the swim school.

Beyond the current criminal charges, the sheriff’s office alleged in a news release that Aejaz, 40, used “hidden cameras to record children as young as age 2 and women of various ages in hospital rooms, changing areas, as well as inside closets, bathrooms and bedrooms he could access,” for at least the past six years.

Detectives believe Aejaz also recorded sexual encounters he had with numerous hospital patients who were “either asleep or unconscious and recorded relatives in the bathroom or while changing clothes,” the release said.

CNN has reached out to Aejaz’s attorney for comment.

Earlier this month, Aejaz’s wife gave the sheriff’s office information and materials “that were concerning,” McDonald said. Oakland County court records show Aejaz’s wife filed a restraining order against her husband and requested sole custody of their home and children after filing for divorce in June.

Authorities immediately executed search warrants and confiscated six computers, four cell phones and 15 external storage devices – one of which held 13,000 videos, the sheriff said. Aejaz was arrested by detectives during the execution of the search warrant of his home on August 8, one day after Aejaz’s wife had submitted the tip.

According to the sheriff, some of the footage captured by Aejaz came from inside his own home, which he shared with his wife and two young sons.

Aejaz was arraigned on August 13 in Rochester Hills District Court and is currently being held in Oakland County Jail on a $2 million bond, according to Bouchard. A citizen of India, Aejaz had been working in the United States on a visa, the sheriff said. His next hearing is scheduled for August 26.

“And those are just the charges we’ve pressed so far that relate to the victims that we can identify,” McDonald continued, noting authorities expect to find more victims from the thousands of images on the devices.

“What we understand from law enforcement is this was not a case where cameras were affixed to or hidden in the Goldfish facility, but rather recordings were made by hidden recording equipment on the suspect’s person, and/or his belongings that he brought in and out of the facility when he came into our school for lessons,” Goldfish Swim School said in a statement.

“Law enforcement has done a thorough sweep of our school to assure that there are no cameras hidden or affixed, and we continue to prioritize the safety and privacy of our members, team and guests with continuous facility checks, as we always have.”

Aejaz “had privileges” at Henry Ford Macomb in Clinton Township and Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township but was not part of their staff, the sheriff’s office release said. At the news conference, Bouchard asked any other medical facilities where Aejaz was licensed or practicing to inform the sheriff’s office.

“We are shocked by these allegations and take them very seriously. This individual has never been an employee of Henry Ford Health but had privileges at several area hospitals, including Henry Ford Macomb Hospital. The safety of our patients and team members is our top priority and we have taken immediate action to prevent him from practicing at our health system,” Henry Ford Health said in a statement.

CNN has also reached out to Ascension for comment.

The sheriff said he estimated it would take around six months to complete a forensic examination of all of the confiscated materials and expected the investigation into Aejaz to go beyond local municipalities, to include “other states or countries.”

“Violating children in safe spaces as they change for a fun swim or sexually violating women who are still under sedation from a medical procedure shows his depravity has no limits. At the end of this case, it is my fervent hope he is held fully accountable behind bars,” Bouchard added.

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