In two separate legal cases, former police officers in Missouri have been charged with pulling women over and then searching their cell phones for nude pictures.
On Tuesday, 39-year-old former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper David McKnight was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court, a press release states. McKnight, who resigned from the force in August, is accused of taking cell phones from nine different women and, upon finding nude or sexually explicit pictures, taking pictures of them with his own phone. McKnight allegedly told the women that he needed their phones to confirm they had insurance or to verify their identity. Eventually, he deleted those pictures from his phone, the press release claims, citing the indictment. The offenses are alleged to have taken place between September 1, 2023 and Aug. 19, 2024.
The Associated Press reports that McKnight was arrested by patrol investigators on Aug. 21 and resigned several days later. He is now charged with one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and nine counts of deprivation of rights related to an unreasonable search and seizure.
On Thursday, another former police officer, 29-year-old Julian Alcala, who previously worked for the Missouri city of Florissant, was accused of doing very much the same thing. Another federal press release accuses Alcala of searching the phones of 20 different women. Like McKnight, authorities claim Alcala would take pictures of nude photographs he found on the women’s phones.
The Seattle Times reports that Alcala had not been with the police department long, joining in January 2023. The alleged offenses took place between Feb. 6, 2024, and May 18, 2024, the DOJ’s press release states. Alcala faces similar charges to McKnight.
In a statement posted to its Facebook page, the Florissant Police Department said, of the allegations against Alcala: “We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers. We recognize the gravity of this breach of trust and its impact on our community.”
The statement added: “Alcala was hired as a full-time Police Officer with the City of Florissant after a meticulous and thorough background investigation, which revealed no areas of concern. During his eleven months of employment, he received no complaints or accusations of misconduct.”
Prosecutors are asking other people who think they may have been impacted by similar crimes to come forward.
Gizmodo reached out to the Missouri State Highway Patrol for comment.
