ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Officials have launched a massive investigation into an Oakland County doctor who’s accused of secretly filming people -- from a 2-year-old to adults -- at hospitals, a swim school, and homes.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard and Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald held a briefing on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 20, 2024, to provide details about the case.
Here’s everything we know so far:
Who is Dr. Oumair Aejaz?
Dr. Oumair Aejaz, 40, of Rochester Hills, is an Indian citizen who came to the United States in 2011 for an internship in Michigan. He’s been working in the U.S. on a Visa.
He’s an internist, which means he specializes in internal medicine.
Aejaz did his residency at Sinai Grace Hospital in Detroit and then moved to Dothan, Alabama, around 2018.
“So this may stretch not just in Michigan, but to other states, and potentially, even other countries,” Bouchard said.
Aejaz eventually returned to Oakland County to continue his practice. Police have confirmed he worked at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc and Henry Ford Macomb Hospital in Clinton Township, though he wasn’t employed directly by either one.
Officials are trying to figure out where else might have worked, both in Michigan and beyond.
“He was apparently a contracted physician who went to different locations for a company, rather than having his own specific practice, so we still don’t know the scope of how many facilities or venues he may have visited in that regard,” Bouchard said.
Aejaz is currently married and has two young boys.
His Michigan medical license was issued Sept. 13, 2018, and it was valid through Sept. 13, 2025.
His Alabama medical license expired in 2019.
How this investigation began
Bouchard said the investigation began on Aug. 7, 2024, when police received information about Aejaz being in possession of concerning pictures and videos.
Before that, Aejaz had no criminal history or previous complaints.
The alarm was sounded by Aejaz‘s wife, who sent materials to police that were deemed “concerning.”
Deputies from the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office searched his home in Rochester Hills on Aug. 8 and confiscated devices.
Since then, authorities have spent hundreds of hours sifting through “really jarring, alarming images,” and they’re going through it all.
Local 4 has confirmed that Aejaz’s wife filed for divorce on June 12, 2024.
What are the allegations?
In short, Aejaz is accused of taking explicit photos and videos of people who had no idea they were being photographed or filmed.
“The allegations were that he was engaged in activity -- including, but not limited to -- placing hidden cameras in changing rooms, video recording young children, as young as 2 years of age, and all the way up to grown adults, in different settings,” Bouchard said.
Bouchard said this activity goes back at least six years. The information he and McDonald revealed on Tuesday was just the tip of iceberg, the sheriff stressed.
“He utilized and appeared to utilize cameras that were deployed separate from himself and then also on his person,” Bouchard said. “They were used in changing rooms, bathrooms, hospital rooms, as well as inside closets, bathrooms, and bedrooms of residents that he had access to.”
None of these crimes happened on operating room tables. But there were photos of people in hospital rooms, Bouchard said.
Investigation so far
Bouchard said this investigation is still “active” and “in its infancy.” But police have already performed a number of searches.
Officers have confiscated six computers, four cellphones, and 15 external hard drives. One of those hard drives contains 13,000 videos.
“This could take as long as six months just to get through what we already have,” Bouchard said.
He said there also might be cloud storage, and police are trying to “run that down.”
Current charges
Right now, Aejaz is facing 10 charges, but officials said they anticipate that number will grow as they continue to go through the files on the hard drives.
McDonald said prosecutors have charged him with:
- One count of child sexually abusive activity.
- Four counts of capturing an image of an unclothed person.
- Five counts of using a computer to commit a crime.
These charges stem from encounters in Rochester and Rochester Hills while Aejaz was not actively on duty as a doctor.
He was arrested Aug. 8 during the search of his home, and he’s currently being held at the Oakland County Jail on a $2 million cash bond, no 10%.
“We feel confident that he will remain there,” McDonald said of Aejaz’s incarceration.
The victims linked to these charges are not identified in court documents for their own privacy. Officials said they know the identities of these victims.
“We fully expect, and actually know, that there are thousands and thousands of images and videos that we will have to work law enforcement, in partnership with others, to identify who those victims are,” McDonald said.
Rochester swim school
All four counts of capturing an image of an unclothed person and four of the five counts of using a computer to commit a crime are linked to Aejaz filming people at the Goldfish Swim School in Rochester.
McDonald said the victims were a 2-year-old child, a 4-year-old child, and two adult women.
“These allegations stemmed from a mom bringing her young children to a swim school and taking them into a changing room and getting them changed,” McDonald said. “The allegations are that the defendant was filming them from a nearby changing area stall.”
This happened on Aug. 21, 2023, and it seems to account for three of the four counts.
“The camera looks like it’s looking underneath into their changing room,” Bouchard said. “He obviously had been examining and researching cameras to do a variety of surreptitious activities.”
The fourth charge linked to the swim school comes from someone who was filmed on a different day, McDonald said.
“It’s extremely disturbing,” McDonald said. “These videos were taken, these images, some of them in a swim school in Rochester, where moms and kids were just there for their swimming lessons and changing in a changing area.”
Aejaz has been to the swim school with his children before, but it’s not yet clear if they were with him when he took the videos that led to these charges.
“I wouldn’t put it past him, given what we’ve seen, to utilize children to put himself in a position to victimize other people,” Bouchard said.
We have unfortunately seen a lot of inaccurate reporting about the horrible situation involving the arrest of Oumair Aejaz, a former member who has been charged with horrendous crimes spanning multiple facilities, cities, possibly states and countries. We want to clarify and reiterate that within the Goldfish facility, there was never a camera hidden affixed to any structures, restrooms or changing areas, or left behind. 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. Unfortunately, no one would have known unless the suspect was physically searched.
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. We remain incredibly angered and saddened, not just for the Goldfish community but for everyone who this predator victimized over many years in a multitude of jurisdictions.
If you, or anyone you know, has any information about Mr. Aejaz and any peculiar behavior, please reach out to the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department at ocsosiu@oakgov.com.
Again, because this is an ongoing investigation, we are unable to comment further, but wanted to reiterate and reassure our community that your safety and privacy is our #1 priority, and these actions are a complete violation of the integrity, compassion and trust we aim to instill within our school.
Goldfish Swim School
NOTE: Bouchard and McDonald clarified that the swim school is cooperating with the investigation, and there is no evidence that the business was involved in any way.
Child sex charge
The charge of child sexually abusive activity, as well one of the computer counts, stems from something police found on a hard drive.
McDonald said there was a picture or video found on Aejaz‘s devices that showed who was clearly underage, and the file qualifies as child pornography.
That victim is not named in the complaint, but prosecutors saw enough to warrant these early charges for that specific file.
Crimes in hospitals
Bouchard mentioned that there was video of a woman lying unconscious in her hospital bed. He said it’s not clear whether Aejaz was her doctor.
“Whether that was an individual he had been charged with any kind of medical care of, or he just accessed that room on his own, or if he went there on his own time because he had credentials -- all of that’s part of the investigation,” Bouchard said.
He did say this woman wasn’t the only one who had been recorded by Aejaz in that type of vulnerable situation.
“We have multiple people that are captured on film in different states of complete undress or where they appear to be under some kind of anesthesia, and they’re being violated,” Bouchard said.
Aejaz isn’t just accused of recording inappropriate videos. Bouchard said he sexually abused some of his victims -- sometimes even on camera.
“It goes beyond just capturing video,” Bouchard said. “There’s physical, assaultive, criminal conduct.”
Bouchard said in some of the videos, Aejaz physically showed himself in the act of filming.
So far, no charges linked to these encounters have been filed.
NOTE: Bouchard and McDonald said the hospitals are cooperating with the investigation, and there is no evidence that they were involved in any way.
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
Filming at his own home
Officials said Aejaz also used cameras to film people at private homes, including his own.
“Capturing images of people when they were not aware,” Bouchard clarified.
The sheriff said those images were explicit.
“Not just taking a picture of someone having a cup of coffee,” Bouchard said. “Taking pictures while they’re in the bathroom, naked, as an example.”
Bouchard was asked if that meant videos and images of his wife.
“Beyond that,” Bouchard said.
Comparing case to Larry Nassar
Bouchard said he’s worked nearly four decades in law enforcement and has even helped write legislation against sex offenders when he was a senator. But this is one of the worst cases he can remember.
“This individual potentially is one of the worst I’ve ever seen, because they’re no particular category,” Bouchard said. “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, and so the victimization is so broad, and the perversion so great, that we’re just beginning to wrap our arms around it.”
“It’s disturbing on so many levels that it’s hard to look at the videos of that activity, where a woman is basically unconscious in a hospital bed and he’s violating her -- to a 2-year-old thinking they’re out for a great swim day, and they’re being captured naked. There’s nobody that’s out of bounds for this sick, sick activity.”
Since Aejaz didn’t seem to have a preferred “type” of victim, Bouchard said police can’t even imagine the scope of his potential pool of victims.
“We’re working to get our arms around how big this is,” Bouchard said. “But when you think about the incredible perversion and destructive activity of (Larry) Nassar, he had a much smaller group of victims, in terms of potential. There’s no limit to the perversion of this individual.”
Camera use
Police are still investigating the specifics of Aejaz‘s camera use.
“It looks like he’s potentially using a variety of camera options, including something that may have been accessible, maybe even controlled by a device,” Bouchard said. “Some things may have just been his cellphone. That’s still a work in progress, but it looks like there are sometimes opportunistic moments when he does it, and other times when it looks like he has intentionally planned the moment.”
The Computer Crimes Unit has not uncovered any evidence suggesting Aejaz sent or shared any of his pictures or videos.
What can you do?
Bouchard was asked how people can make sure they don’t become a victim of this type of crime.
“It’s so unsettling, because it’s so random and it’s so prolific in different venues,” Bouchard said. “You don’t think about certain things. I hate to tell people -- but when you go into a changing room, you have to be aware. … It’s one of those things where you just never know. You should be situationally aware.”
He said he doesn’t want to make everyone paranoid, but they have to be aware that there are “some very sick people in this world.”
Bouchard said police might have to create a task force to handle the scope of this case.
Email for victims
Bouchard said police are working to identify more victims, so they set up an email for this case.
Anyone who believes they’re a victim of Aejaz should email ocsosiu@oakgov.com.
“If you believe you’ve been a victim or have information about this individual or this person’s activities, please send us anything that you have, or any questions or concerns you have,” Bouchard said.
This way, victims don’t have to physically come in, he said.
Local 4 Defender Shawn Ley spoke of a device called the SpyFinder Pro during his 6 p.m. segment which can be found here.
You can watch the full briefing from Tuesday afternoon here:
