Overland Park pediatrician pleads guilty to using hidden cameras to secretly record 13 child victims | News, Sports, Jobs

An Overland Park pediatrician pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to using concealed video cameras to secretly record 13 child victims for the purpose of producing child pornography over a three-year period from Oct. 4, 2020, to Oct. 28 2023.

Brian Michael Aalbers, 50, of Kansas City, Missouri, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lajuana M. He has 13 counts of attempted production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office. for the Western District of Missouri.

Aalbers, a pediatric neurologist at Overland Park Regional Hospital, remains in federal custody without bail.

Concerns were received by both the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding the potential victimization of patients at Aalbers’ pediatric practice. During the investigation, it was determined that there was no evidence indicating that any current or former patients had been victimized by Aalbers. To protect and preserve the privacy of Aalbers’ victims, no additional information regarding the victims will be released, the office said in a press release.

According to the plea agreement, officers investigated a report regarding concealed video cameras that had been found on October 28, 2023. A witness then contacted officers to report that Aalbers was sending suicidal text messages. Lenexa police officers located Aalbers and took him to a local hospital to obtain voluntary mental health treatment. The hospital took possession of two laptops, two iPad tablets and a cell phone that were in a backpack that Aalbers brought with him when he entered the facility.

Investigators obtained search warrants for these devices, as well as other cameras and electronic devices owned by Aalbers. Investigators found more than 50,000 video files associated with the hidden video cameras used by Aalbers, including more than 1,000 videos containing pornographic depictions of the 13 child victims.

Investigators also obtained a search warrant for Aalbers’ iCloud account, which contained an additional 1,000 images and 163 additional videos of child pornography, including videos of the identified child victims that had been produced by Aalbers.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, the government and Aalbers jointly seek a sentence of at least 20 years, but not more than 30 years, in federal prison without the possibility of parole. The defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court based on the Advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.