The Colorado Bureau of Investigation charged Edward Aber with 117 counts of invasion of privacy for sexual gratification on Wednesday, accusing the 62-year-old of accessing more than a hundred different female inmates’ strip search videos between February 2019 and January 2024. He is alleged to have viewed the footage multiple times.
The former La Plata County Jail Commander is also facing one count of first-degree official misconduct. All of the charges are Class 1 misdemeanors.
Aber spent 19 years working at the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office. CBI said he was promoted to jail commander in 2018 and was granted access to evidence.com, a cloud-based evidence management system developed by Axon. The company is also responsible for developing law enforcement body-worn cameras.
In July 2024, the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office placed Aber on administrative leave following allegations of unlawful sexual contact with female inmates and sexual harassment of numerous female employees.
According to the Durango Herald, he called La Plata County Sheriff Sean Smith and resigned on the day the investigation was announced.
La Plata County Undersheriff Frank Sandoval said Aber had not resigned; he would’ve been terminated. No charges have been filed so far in regards to the alleged sexual contact with inmates. CBI opened its investigation into Aber in January of this year.
Aber is still listed as certified and not currently employed in the Colorado Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) database, which tracks certification status, employment, complaints and investigations of law enforcement officers in the state.
He’s scheduled to appear in La Plata County Court on Aug.12.
