Ex-Officer Took Nude Images From Womens Phones in Traffic Stops, U.S. Says

A former Missouri police officer was indicted on Wednesday on charges of unlawfully searching 20 women’s cellphones to obtain nude images during traffic stops, the authorities said.And in an unrelated case, a former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper this week also faced the same charges.In the latest case, the former officer, Julian Alcala, 29, while employed by the Florissant Police Department in Eastern Missouri, searched the victims’ phones between February and May of this year under the guise of checking the drivers’ insurance or registration, the U.S.Justice Department said.With his own cellphone, Mr.

Alcala took photos of explicit images that he found on the drivers’ phones.During one stop, he sent himself a text message of a video before attempting to delete evidence of the text, according to the Justice Department.Mr.

Alcala pleaded not guilty in court on Friday to 21 charges — one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and 20 of deprivation of rights; namely, that someone be free from unreasonable search and seizure.He was released on bond.In one case, Mr.

Alcala “found a video depicting Confidential Victim 1 engaged in sexual activity, and sent the video via text message and the iCloud from Confidential Victim 1’s cellphone to his personal cellphone,” according to court records.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe....