A Baltimore County police officer has been charged with
malfeasance in office after detectives said he repeatedly engaged in and
recorded sexual acts while on duty, including at least one video sent to a
16-year-old girl.
Aaron Z. Pross, 29, of Newark, Del., who was assigned to the
Pikesville Precinct, is being investigated by his agency and could face
additional charges. Detectives said he took more than 120 images and 20 videos
engaging in sexual acts with himself and an adult woman while he was working.
In one video, according to charging documents, Pross was
recorded engaging in lewd acts while the police radio is audible — including
reports of "possible guns involved."
Pross admitted to detectives to taking pictures and video
while on duty, according to charging documents. His attorney did not respond to
calls for comment.
Pross is also accused of sending videos to a 16-year-old
that showed him engaging in lewd behavior while in uniform. The girl's father
contacted Baltimore County police, charging documents said.
The girl's parents told detectives in January that they
searched her phone, finding emails from Pross, including one from November with
an attachment of him masturbating in his patrol car while in uniform.
The girl told detectives she had met Pross through a phone
app and knew he was a police officer, the documents said. Detectives confirmed
he had been working the day the video was sent to the girl's email.
The same month, detectives searched Pross' cellphone, where
detectives found numerous images and videos of Pross in uniform, in his patrol
car, masturbating, documents said.
Pross' phone also contained images of him and an adult woman
engaging in sexual acts in front of his patrol car, charging documents said.
When detectives interviewed her, she said she met Pross on a website, and he
told her he was a police officer who was married with a child. They texted several
times before meeting in person to engage in sexual acts, the document said.
During one encounter in October 2012, they met at a Metro
station in Pikesville before going behind a 7-Eleven. The woman told detectives
that's where Pross handcuffed her, put her on the hood of the patrol car and
took pictures. They then engaged in sexual acts, which were also recorded with
her phone, the documents said, and were sent to Pross' phone.
She said they met several times while he was in uniform and
on duty, the documents said.
Pross, a five-year veteran with Baltimore County, had his
police powers suspended and was assigned to an administrative position when the
investigation began in January, according to a release sent out by the
department.
He turned himself in on a warrant Thursday. He posted
$50,000 bail and was released from custody the same day.
Police said that they are continuing to investigate other
allegations against Pross and that the case is being reviewed by the state's
attorney's office.