**Note: The rank of the law enforcement member of the arresting agency was not made clear in the documents obtained by KRQE News 13.
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A 34-year-old man is facing charges for allegedly placing a camera inside a mobile shower trailer that was provided to first responders fighting the Middle Mesa Fire, which is burning in the Carson National Forest—a 1.5 million-acre forest managed by the US Forest Service in northern New Mexico, near the Colorado state line.
According to Colorado court documents obtained by KRQE News 13, the incident involved a minor who used one of the showers. Officials accused Jason Gilbertson, who worked as a shower attendant at the camp where 400 responders stayed, of placing the camera inside a vent in the shower trailer, which had approximately 15 stalls.
Gilbertson was arrested by the Colorado-based Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office and booked on Aug. 10 on the charges of criminal attempt, sexual exploitation of a child, criminal invasion of privacy, and invasion of privacy for sexual gratification.
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The arrest narrative written by a member of the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office stated that the law enforcement member responded to the camp on Aug. 9 after receiving a report about the camera in a shower.
There, the law enforcement member was told that the female victim, whose age was not disclosed in the documents, used the shower around 4 p.m. that day and was told by Gilbertson to use the shower at the very back of the trailer, the arrest narrative stated. While in the shower and undressed, the victim noticed a pen sitting across a vent in the shower trailer ceiling and took it out, realizing it had a camera on it and a micro SD card.
The victim left the shower with the camera. The incident was then reported to supervisors and law enforcement.
The age of the victim and their affiliation with the camp were not disclosed in documents obtained by KRQE News 13.
During an interview with the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office, Gilbertson initially said that he did not put the pen in the shower stall and did not know how it got there, according to the arrest narrative.
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office reviewed the files from the camera’s SD card and reportedly found videos showing Gilbertson’s face as he placed the pen camera into the vent in the shower stall at that same location.
The law enforcement member who compiled the arrest narrative wrote that in one of the videos, Gilbertson was seen adjusting the camera to “have a better view of inside the shower stall.”
“On the SD card, I did not observe any videos of anyone else in the shower,” the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office law enforcement member wrote.
Court records obtained by KRQE News 13 showed that Gilbertson is from Billings, Montana, and that he posted a $20,000 bond. on Aug. 12.
The US Forest Service, which manages the Carson National Forest and has allocated resources to the firefighting effort, provided the following comment via email:
“Forest Service incident leadership was notified of allegations made by fire personnel regarding conduct within the fire camp involving a contract vendor. The case is being investigated by the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office, and further inquiries should be directed to that agency.
The safety and well-being of our firefighters and fire support personnel remain our highest priority. Impacted individuals have been notified, and the Forest Service is offering support resources while working to identify any others who may have been affected.”
KRQE News 13 also reached out to the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office for comment and details about the arrest, but has not heard back.
At the time of this publication, the fire, which began on Aug. 1 due to lightning, is 92% contained and has burned 5,031 acres.
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