Jail Boss Allegedly Watched Strip Search Videos 3K Times

Three women who were among the more than 100 inmates whose strip search videos were allegedly watched repeatedly by a Colorado jail's former commander are suing him and government agencies, saying they failed to keep tabs on who was accessing the images and why. The proposed federal class action lawsuit, filed Wednesday, alleges that La Plata County and its sheriff's office knew that Edward Aber had a history of being accused of sexual impropriety or harassment when he was hired and failed to place controls on access to strip search footage, including monitoring who was accessing it, per the AP. Aber is already being criminally prosecuted after a state investigation found he'd watched the strip search videos of at least 117 female inmates over about five years.

Aber was placed on paid leave in July 2024 while he was investigated for "alleged sexual conduct" with female inmates and sexual harassment of sheriff's office employees, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. The previous investigation did not result in any criminal charges being filed against Aber, who resigned in July 2024, but prompted a review of his computer use, the document said. Between February 2019 and July 2024, investigators found that Aber had logged in to access body camera footage over 3,000 times, mostly to watch footage labeled as strip searches, without any apparent legitimate reason, according to the arrest affidavit. The videos were sometimes watched from home and hotels, often late at night or early in the morning, it said.

Aber was charged last month with one count of first degree official misconduct as well 117 counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification, all misdemeanors, for alleging watching the videos of female inmates, including the three women who filed the lawsuit. The lawsuit also seeks to include any other woman whose videos were allegedly viewed by Aber. The document noted that some videos Aber had accessed were purged from the system, so there could be more women whose videos he watched beyond those of the 117 women that remained. The lawsuit accuses Aber and the others of violating the women's constitutional rights, including their rights to privacy and to be protected against unreasonable searches.