A former suburban St. Louis police officer pleaded guilty in federal court this week after admitting he searched women’s phones for nude photos and videos during traffic stops.
Ex-Florissant officer Julian Alcala, 30, pleaded guilty Tuesday to 20 counts of willfully depriving someone of their right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, but avoided a felony obstruction count in a deal with federal prosecutors.
Alcala admitted to first pulling a woman over in February 2024 and taking her cellphone to his patrol car under the pretense of confirming her insurance information. Instead, he used his phone to take photos of explicit content he found in her folders and app, and even texted himself a video of the women engaged in sexual activity before deleting the sent text.
Over the next three months, without a warrant or probable cause, he took the phones of 19 other women to search for photos and videos while claiming he was checking their insurance or registration.
The first victim contacted the FBI after seeing the deleted text sent to an unknown number. Agents traced the number to Alcala and, after executing a search warrant, found other nude images on his cellphone and in cloud storage.
Each of the 20 charges against Alcala carries a penalty of up to a year in jail, a fine of up $100,000, or both. Alcala is currently free on bond but scheduled to be sentenced on March 11.
