A former jail commander in southern Colorado has been arrested for viewing explicit videos of over 100 female inmates during strip searches, according to state investigators. Edward “Ed” Aber, 62, allegedly saved photos of the inmates’ faces and bodies, looked them up on social media, and accessed videos of strip searches multiple times late at night and early in the morning over a five-year period.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation detailed Aber’s actions in an arrest warrant issued on July 22. Aber, who worked at the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office, resigned in July 2024 after an investigation was launched into allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with inmates and sexual harassment of female employees.
During the investigation, it was discovered that Aber had logged into an evidence website storing strip search videos over 3,000 times. He was found to have accessed the videos repeatedly, focusing on female inmates being stripped naked and inspected for contraband during the intake process.
Although Aber denied the allegations of sexual contact with inmates, the sheriff’s office found evidence on his work devices showing that he had saved images from the strip search videos and looked up female inmates and colleagues on Facebook.
Investigators noted that Aber’s login credentials were used to access the evidence website from various locations, including Arizona, two Denver hotels, and other potentially masked IP addresses. Aber later admitted to Sheriff Sean Smith that he had attempted suicide during the criminal investigation.
The La Plata County Sheriff’s Office continued to investigate Aber post-resignation and found further evidence of his inappropriate behavior. The Sixth Judicial District Attorney’s Office has not yet commented on the case.
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