Former Missouri State Highway Patrolman indicted on federal charges after allegedly using his personal cellphone to capture nude photos of women
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KBSI) – A former Missouri State Highway Patrolman is now facing federal charges after a federal indictment.
David McKnight age 39, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau with one count of destroying records in a federal investigation and nine counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
The indictment says that between Sept. 1, 2023, and August 19, 2024, McKnight took cell phones from nine different women.
McKnight then searched the phones and used his personal cell phone to photograph nude pictures that he found, the indictment says.
He later deleted the images from his cell phone according to the indictment.
McKnight stopped most of the women for traffic violations.
He took their phones stating that he was confirming that they had insurance coverage or verifying their identification.
“These allegations are being taken very seriously, and we’d like to encourage anyone who believes they had a concerning interaction with McKnight to contact the FBI,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.
Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the FBI by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (800-225-5324) or via tips.fbi.gov
