Former officer pleads guilty to searching for nude photos on 20 women’s phones during traffic stops

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOV/Gray News) - A former police officer pleaded guilty to charges for illegally searching the phones of women looking for nude photos.

Julian Alcala, 30, was a member of the Florissant Police Department in Missouri.

Alcala pleaded guilty in federal court to 20 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law. He is scheduled to be sentenced on March 11. Each charge carries a penalty of up to a year in prison, a fine of up to $100,000 or both.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, while on duty, Alcala had pulled over 20 women between February 2024 and May 2024. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Alcala took each victim’s phone to his patrol car, saying he needed to use their phones to confirm their insurance coverage or vehicle registration.

Alcala would then search the phones without a warrant or probable cause of a crime, and would use his own phone to take pictures of nude photos he found.

The FBI investigation into Alcala began when one victim discovered that Alcala had forwarded a video of her to himself.