Former La Plata County Jail Cmdr. Ed Aber used his law enforcement credentials to view videos of female inmates being strip-searched on at least 3,166 occasions, according to an arrest affidavit filed by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
He viewed the videos early in the morning, late at night and during the day, according to the affidavit. He watched them at home, at work and sometimes while traveling.
In total, he viewed 117 women being strip-searched – some on multiple occasions – from February 2019 through January 2024, according to the affidavit.
“Ed Aber regularly used law enforcement credentials to access evidence.com in order to view restricted body-camera footage that contained close-up vantage points of the intimate parts of at least 117 female inmates,” the eight-page affidavit says. “With no apparent legitimate law enforcement purpose to do so, he thereby obtained a benefit ‒ albeit nefarious and illegal, by accessing a trove of footage depicting naked female inmates’ intimate body parts to purportedly fuel a sexual desire or gratification.”
The 62-year-old former jail commander, who had at least three decades in law enforcement, is charged with one count of official misconduct and 117 counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification – all misdemeanors.
According to the affidavit, Aber’s alleged misconduct wasn’t limited to viewing strip-search videos. He also engaged in unlawful sexual contact with female inmates and sexually harassed numerous female employees.
In 2024, at least 14 female employees at the Sheriff’s Office reported multiple instances of alleged inappropriate sexual advances and comments made by Aber over several years, according to the affidavit.
In one instance, he sat next to a staff member and commented on her cleavage. In another, he described erotica to a staff member by recounting a dream in which he “choked her out,” according to the affidavit.
His inappropriate behavior also extended to the inmate population, according to the affidavit.
In one incident, a staff member knocked on the closed door of Aber’s office and, upon entering, the employee saw a female inmate emerge from under Aber’s desk. According to the affidavit, Aber looked startled and said the inmate had been adjusting computer wires.
Aber reportedly had female inmates in his office with the door closed on multiple occasions, causing suspicion and discomfort among co-workers.
In addition to repeatedly viewing videos on his personal and work devices, he also saved screenshots from the strip-search videos, according to the affidavit.
“Photographs of the body, cleavage, breasts, and face of these former and current female inmates were recovered from electronic devices belonging to Aber,” the affidavit said.
During the investigation, Aber reportedly reset and erased all data from a personal iPad just before his devices being seized in 2024.
According to the affidavit, Aber had several favorites among the 117 inmates. He repeatedly viewed strip-searches of specific inmates, including some he worked closely with at the La Plata County Jail and at Hilltop House Community Corrections, a halfway house that allows offenders to serve their sentences while holding jobs in the community.
One of those inmates was the woman who emerged from under his desk.
He also repeatedly viewed the Facebook profiles of several female co-workers and inmates.
Some of the footage Aber reportedly viewed on evidence.com had been purged from the database by the time investigators began their work – a result of automatic deletions after set expiration dates.
As such, the number of videos Aber viewed depicting nude inmates “would be higher had the videos not been purged from the system,” according to the affidavit.
Some of the lost videos included footage of entire cell blocks being strip-searched, reportedly viewed by Aber multiple times before being automatically erased.
The only time strip-search videos should be reviewed is when an inmate was uncooperative, force was used or contraband was seized.
The affidavit also says that reviews are to be done immediately after such incidents – not months later, as in Aber’s case. His actions were “unauthorized and well outside the scope of the access he had in his capacity as a public servant and jail captain,” according to the affidavit.
The 6th Judicial District Attorney’s Office declined to say what, if any, efforts are being made to contact and notify the alleged victims.
“The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven otherwise,” District Attorney Sean Murray said Thursday.
Jason Kosloski, a criminal and civil rights lawyer in Denver, said the alleged victims could be eligible for civil compensation through lawsuits.
“When you’re in jail, you have very little power over your own autonomy and body,” he said. “The jail staff who are in charge of you are entrusted with a massive amount of power – and it sounds like (Aber) took absolute advantage of this.”
Kosloski said Aber could face probation or several years in jail.
During the investigation, Aber expressed suicidal ideations, at one point telling La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith that he would “never go to jail.”
epond@durangoherald.com
