Former Florissant police officer Julian Alcala just admitted guilt, pleading guilty in federal court to 20 felony counts for stealing private photos and videos from women he pulled over during traffic stops, according to KCUR. This whole situation is a massive breach of trust, and honestly, it’s disgusting.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Alcala, who is 30, carried out this scheme over the course of three months in 2024. He would pull victims over for minor traffic offenses, which is standard procedure, but then he’d take their phones. He claimed he needed to check for digital proof of insurance or vehicle registration, but that wasn’t his real goal at all. Instead, he systematically searched through their photo albums and secretly sent intimate photos and videos to his own device.
This is a terrible violation of privacy, a major example of which we have seen in South Korea recently. You expect an officer to uphold the law, not use their authority to commit a crime like this. The FBI investigation only started because one of the women realized what was happening. She noticed that a video she had taken had been transferred via the cloud, which immediately raised red flags. That discovery launched the full investigation into Alcala’s illegal actions.
If he thought he’d get away with snooping into random citizens’ mobile phones, law enforcement wasn’t the right place for him
Alcala has accepted responsibility for his behavior. He pleaded guilty to the 20 felony counts, and in exchange, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional charge related to the destruction of evidence. While he didn’t speak in court other than to answer questions posed by U.S. District Judge Henry Autrey, his attorney Scott Rosenblum issued a statement afterward. “But he has accepted responsibility and is looking forward to re-establishing what was once a productive life,” Rosenblum stated.
Alcala resigned from the Florissant Police Department in June 2024, shortly after the investigation started. When he was formally charged in November 2024, the department was quick to address the situation publicly. In a Facebook post, the department claimed it was unaware of his behavior until the investigation began and stated that it cooperated fully with the FBI.
The department wrote, “We are disgusted at this behavior, which is a complete betrayal of the values we uphold and in no way reflects the professionalism and integrity of our dedicated officers. We recognize the gravity of this breach of trust and its impact on our community.” You can tell they felt blindsided by the incident, and they certainly didn’t want this kind of behavior reflecting on the rest of their officers. The same cannot be said about the country’s highest institutions, though.
The sentencing is set for March 11. Federal sentencing guidelines suggest that Alcala should spend 12 months in prison for each of the 20 counts, which would be quite a long time. However, as part of the plea deal, prosecutors have agreed to ask Judge Autrey for a sentence of no more than three years.
Published: Dec 4, 2025 02:00 pm