Michigan doctor allegedly filmed and abused a “wide” range of victims, including children

CNN
—

A doctor in Michigan has been arrested for filming young children and adults in the locker rooms of a Rochester swim school, Oakland County authorities said Tuesday. They added that they expect to identify more victims after thousands more videos and images were found on the doctor's devices, including footage of him assaulting a patient in a hospital.

Dr. Oumair Aejaz has been charged with one count of child sexual abuse, four counts of taking 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 news conference Tuesday.

“This person may be one of the worst I've ever seen,” the sheriff said. “Because there's no specific category. It's not just children, it's not just women, it's not just men. It goes from a two-year-old to a grown woman. The victimization is so broad and the perversion so great that we're only just beginning to understand it.”

The charges stem primarily from an incident that occurred at a Goldfish swim school in August 2023. A video of it was found on hard drives seized from Aejaz earlier this month, authorities said.

“The current charges we have filed as a result of the events that have occurred in Oakland County to date involve four different victims,” ​​Oakland County District Attorney Karen D. McDonald said at the press conference. “The current charges are related to the swim school and involve a 2-year-old, a 4-year-old and two adult females.”

McDonald later noted that the child sexual abuse charge related to material found on Aejaz's device and not to the swim school incident.

In addition to the current criminal charges, the sheriff's office alleged in a press release that Aejaz, 40, “used hidden cameras to film children as young as two and women of various ages in hospital rooms, locker rooms, and restrooms, bathrooms and bedrooms to which he had access” for at least six years.

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

CNN has contacted Aejaz's lawyer for comment.

Earlier this month, Aejaz's wife provided the sheriff's office with information and materials “that raised concerns,” McDonald said. Oakland County court records show that Aejaz's wife obtained a restraining order against her husband and sought sole custody of the house and children after filing for divorce in June.

Authorities immediately executed search warrants and seized six computers, four cell phones and 15 external storage devices – one of which contained 13,000 videos, the sheriff said. Aejaz was arrested by detectives executing a search warrant on his home on August 8, one day after Aejaz's wife made the tip-off.

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

Aejaz was arraigned in Rochester Hills District Court on Aug. 13 and is currently being held in Oakland County Jail on $2 million bail, Bouchard said. Aejaz, an Indian national, was working in the United States on a visa, the sheriff said. His next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26.

“And those are just the charges we've filed so far related to the victims we can identify,” McDonald continued, noting that authorities expect to find even more victims based on the thousands of images on the devices.

“From what we understand from law enforcement, this is not a case of cameras being attached or hidden at the Goldfish facility, but rather that hidden recording devices were used to capture footage on the suspect's body and/or belongings that he was bringing in and out of the facility as he came to our school for classes,” Goldfish Swim School said in a statement.

“Police have conducted a thorough search of our school to ensure there are no hidden or installed cameras. And as always, we continue to prioritize the safety and privacy of our members, team and guests with ongoing facility checks.”

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

“We are shocked by these allegations and take them very seriously. This individual was never 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 took immediate action to prevent him from practicing in our health system,” Henry Ford Health said in a statement.

CNN has also reached out to Ascension for comment.

The sheriff estimates that the forensic examination of all seized materials will take about six months. He expects the investigation into the Aejaz case to extend beyond the local communities and include “other states or countries.”

“Abusing children in secure spaces while they are changing for a fun bath or sexually abusing women who are still sedated after a medical procedure shows that his depravity knows no bounds. At the end of this case, I sincerely hope that he is held fully accountable behind bars,” Bouchard added.