The Albuquerque Journal
SANTA FE, N.M. — A Los Alamos Fire Department captain faces criminal charges after a female firefighter found a small camera hidden in the paper towel dispenser in her bathroom at the fire station.
Los Alamos police have charged Fire Department Capt. Aaron Adair, 36, with voyeurism and tampering with evidence. A criminal complaint filed in Magistrate Court on Monday says Adair admitted hiding the camera in the towel dispenser in an effort to capture video of firefighter Jessie Noah.
Attorney John Day of Santa Fe, who is representing Noah, 27, said she agreed to being identified by name in news reports. He said the discovery of the camera in the bathroom — which includes a shower — has been devastating for Noah, one of a handful of female firefighters in Los Alamos.
She found the camera — pointing toward the toilet and the shower, according to her statement to police — after the towel dispenser malfunctioned and she opened it to see if it needed new batteries. Noah told police it was likely the camera caught her as she showered Sunday morning.
“She’s a dedicated firefighter, a young woman who grew up on a ranch in Idaho. She’s tough and a team player,” said Day about Noah, a former wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service. “It’s devastating because she’s trying to be part of a team and one of her captains is a pervert.”
“In the year 2010, women shouldn’t have to put up with this kind of disgusting behavior from men,” Day said.
The tampering charge against Adair is for allegedly destroying the camera’s memory card after Noah gave the camera back. The criminal complaint says Adair admitted to police to breaking the memory card into pieces. He said he put two of the pieces into an orange squash and threw the vegetable into Rendija Canyon — although police couldn’t locate the card or any pieces where they subsequently found the squash broken into pieces.
Adair hasn’t been arrested or jailed. The criminal complaint was filed as a summons request. A Police Department spokesman said Adair will be required to appear in Magistrate Court to face the two misdemeanor counts.
Placed on leave
Deputy Fire Chief Patrick Sleik said Adair, who’s been with the Fire Department 11 or 12 years, has been placed on leave with pay, pending an administrative investigation. A call to Adair’s home phone was not returned Friday.
Sleik said Noah has been with the department three or four years. He said that about five women are among 130 “line” firefighters in the department.
Noah found the camera — about 3-by-1 inches in size — Sunday morning. Each firefighter on a shift has a separate bathroom, and the one where the camera was hidden was the one she uses.
Noah told police the camera was wedged between the side of the dispenser and the paper towel roll, and that an oval section on the front of the dispenser is transparent.
Noah showed the camera to other firefighters. One used the device’s USB port to connect it to a computer and confirmed it was a camera, but the firefighters unplugged it without viewing any images. Noah took it because “she did not want it sitting around unattended,” the police complaint says. Police were called to Fire Station 3 at about 7:50 a.m.
A couple of hours later, Noah called police again to report that Adair had approached her in the computer room and admitted he’d put the camera in the bathroom “and was very sorry.” Nervous and shaking, he begged her not to report the camera “because his career would be jeopardized.”
He asked for the camera back and “hesitantly” she complied. Adair removed the memory card and told her he would destroy it, Noah told police. Adair later talked to her by phone and apologized again but told her he would deny having anything to do with the camera, Noah reported.
Copyright 2010 Albuquerque Journal