Nude photos on woman’s phone stolen by cop during Missouri traffic stop, lawsuit says
With only a digital copy of her insurance information, a Missouri woman unlocked and handed her phone to an officer who pulled her over for a broken taillight.
Florissant police Officer Julian Alcala took her phone back to his patrol car, according to a federal lawsuit. The woman assumed he would take down her insurance information and return the device.
Instead, without the woman’s knowledge, he searched her phone to find private, sexually explicit photos, according to a lawsuit. The officer used his own phone to capture the woman’s intimate photos for himself, the lawsuit said.
A lawsuit filed on Oct. 22 says there are at least seven other victims.
Court documents also say the city of Florissant is liable for the officer’s conduct.
The city did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment. Alcala’s attorney information was not listed. Alacala is no longer an officer with the Florissant Police Department, KOMU reported.
Documents accuse the officer of stealing the nude photos of the woman during two separate traffic stops.
His actions were unknown to the woman until she was contacted by the FBI, the lawsuit said.
The photos were found by the FBI after they had been sent from Alcala’s phone to others, according to court documents.
The lawsuit says the women’s civil rights and protection against illegal search and seizure were violated by the officer.
A prior lawsuit filed against the same officer tells a similar story, McClatchy News reported in September.
The officer’s identity was confirmed by the attorney in the recently filed federal lawsuit and local news outlets.
In February 2024, a different woman was pulled over for a broken taillight.
She handed the officer her phone with her insurance information displayed, and he took it back to his patrol vehicle, a lawsuit filed Sept. 6 said.
The officer scrolled back years to find intimate photos she sent to her husband, the lawsuit said. Using his own phone, he took pictures of the explicit photos, according to court documents.
Months later, FBI agents showed the woman a photograph — “blown up large and printed out” — of her “fully nude” that she had sent to her husband through text message, according to the lawsuit.
The September lawsuit is asking for a minimum of $25,000 in damages.
The lawsuit recently filed by a different woman is demanding a jury trial.
Florissant is about a 17-mile drive northwest from St. Louis.
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 11:52 AM with the headline "Nude photos on woman’s phone stolen by cop during Missouri traffic stop, lawsuit says."
