A former mental health worker is accused of sending sexually explicit photographs and videos to two girls, including while he was on the job at New Hampshire Hospital.
Brandon Aubin, 36, of Concord faces eight counts of transmitting a lewd image to a child under the age of 16, in addition to two counts each of certain uses of computer services prohibited and endangering the welfare of a child by attempting to solicit sex online. City police arrested Aubin on a warrant Thursday, and he was ordered held at the county jail in Boscawen.
Police allege Aubin communicated with the girls over messaging applications available through Facebook between November 2018 and June 2019. The children are known to Aubin and are not patients at the state hospital, according to court documents.
Department of Health and Human Services Spokesman Jake Leon said Concord police had previously notified the department of the allegations against Aubin, who was immediately placed on unpaid administrative leave. He said Aubin is no longer employed by New Hampshire Hospital.
“The investigation is ongoing and the Department has and will continue to assist law enforcement as appropriate,” Leon said.
Concord police began their investigation of Aubin this past July after receiving a cyber alert tip from the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children. The tip suggested that at least one child was in imminent danger, police said.
“Concord police detectives quickly made contact with the victims, who are known to Mr. Aubin, and removed them from danger and ensured that they were in a safe place while the investigation continued,” Concord police Lt. Sean Ford said in a statement Friday.
Facebook had reported that a 36-year-old man appeared to be trying to solicit nude photographs from a child through a private conversation in the messenger application, according to an affidavit prepared by Detective Joseph Chaput. In response, authorities immediately requested that Facebook preserve all communications and also reached out to Aubin’s internet service provider.
In one of the videos sent to the girl, police detectives say Aubin showed his face, which allowed them to further confirm his identity.
On Aug. 2, police executed a search warrant at New Hampshire Hospital and identified a cubicle where they believe Aubin had recorded sexually explicit images of himself, the affidavit says. Officers said they compared objects observed in the background of those photos and videos to those in the office space.
During an interview at the Merrimack County Advocacy Center in Concord in August, one of the girls said she had asked Aubin where he was and he responded, “In a back office (where) no one is.”
Aubin also reportedly told the girls to keep the communication between them a secret.
In interviews with police, Aubin said Facebook had shut down his account a couple of years ago and never told him why. When asked about the images and videos, he denied ever sending them through his account.
Police ask anyone with information about the case or other related crimes to contact Ford at 225-8600 or the Concord Regional Crime Line at 226-3100.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319 or at adandrea@cmonitor.com.)