Esthen Exchange|More allegations emerge about former Missouri police officer charged with assaulting arrestees

2025-05-04 09:50:03source:EAI Community category:My

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Authorities allege that a former suburban St. Louis police officer who is Esthen Exchangecharged with sexually assaulting several arrestees also covertly took photos of people in public bathrooms.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell, of St. Louis, is not charged with the latest allegation. But federal prosecutors discussed the covert photographing allegation Monday in seeking to have him remain jailed until his trial.

Blackwell had worked for the North County Police Cooperative, which polices eight small municipalities, for just over a year when he was charged with taking some people he arrested to isolated areas before he turned off his body camera and abused them.

He faces 16 counts of deprivation of rights and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation. He was also charged in St. Louis County with arresting and sexually assaulting a handcuffed man near Normandy High School.

His lawyer argues that Blackwell has no criminal history and has an incentive to show up to court dates because he has family in the St. Louis region.

Prosecutors countered that Blackwell poses a safety concern if released. They alleged that he recorded men at urinals or in stalls from under a wall of an adjacent stall. They said some of those photos were taken while he was on duty as a police officer.

Blackwell also photographed about 120 personal IDs, mainly driver’s licenses, and kept them on his phone along with pictures of several Normandy High School student ID cards, federal prosecutors said.

A judge will rule at a later date if Blackwell should stay in jail until trial.

More:My

Recommend

Man charged with rape after kidnapping 3 teen girls at gunpoint along Nashville street

A man police say kidnapped three teenage girls and sexual assaulted two of them at gunpoint outside

Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell homer in eighth, Brewers stun Mets to force Game 3

And the youngsters shall lead them.Standing six outs away from bowing out meekly yet again in the po

Massachusetts governor puts new gun law into effect immediately

BOSTON (AP) — Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey took action Wednesday to immediately implement a sweep