A former police officer from a suburb of St. Louis in the United States has confessed to a shocking pattern of abuse, admitting he stopped more than twenty women and unlawfully searched their mobile phones for intimate images over a period of several months.
The Pattern of Abuse and Guilty Plea
According to court documents filed on Tuesday, Julian Alcala, the 30-year-old former officer from Florissant, entered a guilty plea to 20 misdemeanour counts of wilfully depriving individuals of their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. In exchange for his plea, federal prosecutors agreed to drop a more serious felony obstruction charge.
Each of the misdemeanour counts carries a potential maximum sentence of one year in prison. Alcala is currently free on bond and is scheduled to be sentenced on 11 March.
How the Offences Were Committed
The plea agreement details a disturbing modus operandi. The incidents began in February 2024, when Alcala pulled over a woman. Under the pretence of needing to verify her insurance documentation, he took her mobile phone to his patrol car. Once there, he discovered a sexually explicit video on the device, which he then texted to his own number. He also photographed a nude image of the woman found on her phone.
Over the following three months, the plea deal states that Alcala repeated this violation with 19 other women. During routine traffic stops, he would take their phones back to his vehicle, ostensibly to check insurance or registration details. His true intention, however, was to scour the devices for private nude photographs and videos, which he would then capture with his own camera.
The Investigation and Unravelling of the Crimes
The former officer's illicit activities were uncovered thanks to the vigilance of his first victim. She later checked the deleted messages folder on her phone and discovered that the explicit video of her had been sent to an unknown telephone number. Alarmed, she contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI traced the number in question directly back to Julian Alcala. Agents subsequently executed a search warrant, which led to the discovery of the other illicit photographs he had taken from the women's devices. This evidence formed the core of the case against him.
Scott Rosenblum, the attorney representing Alcala, did not provide an immediate comment when contacted via email on Tuesday regarding the plea.
