Former employees sue Michigan swim school after doctor allegedly secretly recorded them undressing
(CBS DETROIT) – Two former employees of Goldfish Swim School in Rochester have filed a lawsuit, claiming the school failed to protect them from a Metro Detroit physician accused of secretly recording women and children without their consent.
In August, Dr. Oumair Aejaz, 40, of Rochester Hills, was charged in connection to several sex crimes against adults and children that happened at his residence, places of employment and at the Goldfish Swim School. Aejaz allegedly placed hidden cameras in changing rooms, video recording children as young as 2 years old as well as adults.
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard says the doctor's crimes range from videos of a toddler undressing in a swim club changing room to a woman unconscious in a hospital bed being violated by Aejaz.
Two former employees of the swim school filed a lawsuit Monday in Oakland County Circuit Court. Both women were informed in August by the Oakland County Sheriff's Office that they were secretly recorded while changing in a swim school stall. They say they were required to change into swim school uniforms in a community changing area.
The women listed in the lawsuit are 23 and 21 years old, respectively – the first was 20-22 years old when the events took place, while the second was 18-20 years old.
"Goldfish Swim School failed to take basic security measures that could have prevented this violation," a release on behalf of the women said. "No proper oversight was in place, and the locker room lacked necessary privacy safeguards, leaving employees vulnerable."
"Goldfish Swim shares the blame with Dr. Aejaz for betraying our trust and violating our privacy," the two former employees said in a statement. "As former employees, we were required to undress in shared spaces, creating an environment ripe for predatory behavior. It's crucial for Goldfish Swim to recognize its role in this situation and to take meaningful steps to ensure the safety and dignity of everyone involved. We need to see real change to prevent this from happening again."
According to the lawsuit, since the two women became aware that they were videotaped without their consent, they have "experienced significant physical and emotional injury and harm" and have suffered "anxiety, depression, humiliation, embarrassment, increased stress, lack of appetite, nightmares and sleep disturbances."
The two women are being represented by attorneys Megan Bonanni and Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller, who previously represented survivors of Larry Nassar, the former Team USA gymnastics physician and convicted sexual abuser.
"Goldfish Swim in Rochester has a lot to answer for," said Bonanni in a statement. "Predators do not operate in isolation; they take advantage of opportunities presented to them, and Goldfish created an ideal feeding ground for Dr. Aejaz."
"It is imperative that Goldfish not only takes accountability but also implements comprehensive reforms to protect the safety and dignity of all employees and patrons," added Esser-Weidenfeller. "We demand meaningful change to prevent such abuses from occurring in the future."
The women are seeking compensation from Goldfish Swim School in Rochester for physical and emotional injury and ask that the school change its business practices to ensure that employees and patrons are protected.
Aejaz is an Indian citizen who has been working in the U.S. on a visa since 2011. He was arrested on Aug. 8 after his wife provided materials that were concerning to the Oakland County Sheriff's Office.
During their investigation, detectives obtained six computers, four cellphones and 15 external storage devices from Aejaz, including one hard drive that had 13,000 videos on it.
"This individual potentially is one of the worst that I've ever seen, because there's 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. The victimization is so broad and the perversion is so great that we're just beginning to wrap our arms around it."
Aejaz has been charged with 15 criminal counts, including child sex abuse, capturing images of unclothed persons, and using a computer to commit a crime.
Last week, two of Aejaz's victims filed lawsuits against two hospitals — Detroit Medical Center Sinai Grace Hospital and Henry Ford Macomb Hospital — where Aejaz treated patients.
Both lawsuits claim the victims were recorded without their consent and accuse the two hospitals of giving Aejaz unsupervised access to patients, which allowed him to sexually assault and record thousands of patients over at least six years.
In response to the lawsuit, the DMC issued a statement saying, "The DMC is committed to ensuring a safe environment for all patients who come to us for their care. Dr. Oumair Aejaz does not have privileges to admit or care for patients at DMC Sinai-Grace Hospital or any DMC hospital and has not treated patients at the DMC since completing his residency in 2015, so we do not know of any basis for these allegations."
CBS News Detroit reached out to Goldfish Swim School for comment and is waiting to hear back.
You can read a full copy of the lawsuit against Goldfish Swim School below.
Former Goldfish Swim School employee lawsuit by CBS Detroit on Scribd
