Johnson County pediatric doctor accused of second felony in secret camera investigation

A Johnson County pediatric doctor is now facing a federal indictment charging him with possession of child sexual abuse images, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Missouri.

Brian M. Aalbers, 49, of Overland Park, was arrested earlier this month and has been held in federal custody on a separate charge of producing child sexual abuse images with a hidden camera. He is accused of both felonies under the grand jury indictment returned Tuesday.

The charges stem from an investigation opened by Kansas City police in late October and now led by the FBI.

A person contacted police Oct. 28, saying they had discovered secretly placed video cameras, according to an affidavit prepared by the FBI in support of criminal charges for Aalbers. The location of the cameras, as well as several other details, were redacted from publicly available court documents.

Aalbers visited the place where police were called and officers released him from the scene pending further investigation. Shortly after, police were contacted again and told Aalbers was sending troubling text messages in which he described losing “his license” and “going to jail,” the affidavit says.

Officers brought Aalbers from a Lenexa hotel to a hospital for voluntary mental health treatment, the affidavit says. While there, the doctor allegedly asked someone to retrieve a bag that contained electronic devices with “bad stuff” on them.

The devices were handed over to authorities and taken to an FBI forensic computer lab for analysis after a search warrant was obtained. There were 20,000 videos on the devices, the affidavit says, and a little more than 1,000 were flagged by investigators.

Seen in the videos were between 10 and 12 minors, including at least one who was partially nude, the affidavit says. Authorities were working to identify other potential victims.

Aalbers was arrested after his release from mental health treatment. During a hearing last week, a federal judge ordered him held without bond pending a resolution of his criminal case.

Aalbers has an active osteopathic physician license last renewed in September with a listed specialty of pediatric neurology, according to the Kansas State Board of Healing Arts. He recently worked at Overland Park Regional Medical Center and listed it as his primary address for his state medical license.

A spokeswoman for HCA Midwest Health, which runs the hospital, told The Star on Nov. 17 that Aalbers was no longer affiliated with Overland Park Regional or any of the health care provider’s other regional facilities or clinics.

On Monday, the FBI asked for the public’s help with their investigation, referencing Aalbers’ “profession and contact with children,” by completing a questionnaire or reaching out to a tip line.

Several questions on the survey were apparently aimed toward parents with children treated by Aalbers. Among them:

• Did Aalbers treat their child?

• Was their child ever left alone with Aalbers?

• Did they observe changes in Aalbers’ behavior?

Anyone with additional information, questions or concerns was asked to email the FBI at aalbersinvestigation@fbi.gov.

Chistine Hamele, spokeswoman for HCA Midwest, said in a statement that patient health and safety was “our top priority, and there is no indication at this time that the allegations against Dr. Aalbers involve patients.”

“We assisted law enforcement with their initial investigation and will continue to help in any way we can if that is requested. Additionally, we can confirm that the appropriate regulatory agencies have been made aware of the charges against Dr. Aalbers,” Hamele said.