Oh my… a former St. Louis police officer has been slammed with a 36-count indictment. And no...he isn’t accused of your typical case of police brutality.
A group of men came forward accusing 34-year-old Marcellis Blackwell of groping, sodomizing and other cruel claims of sexual abuse. Blackwell’s exposure began back in June when he was arrested for sexually assaulting a man whom he handcuffed near a high school, court records show. In September, he was indicted in federal court on 16 felonies after being accused of groping eight men he’d detained.
Soon, more victims came out to share their experiences and expanded the list of counts.
The federal indictment includes graphic details of instances in which men accuse Blackwell of sodomizing them with his finger and feeling under their clothing without the intent to do a police search. Authorities say they recovered a slew of video and photo evidence of these alleged encounters on his personal and work phones. Some of those photos appeared to be taken covertly in areas like elevators or bathrooms, according to the court document.
What’s worse is that the Feds say the ex-cop tried to cover his ass.
“The defendant, acting in relation to and in contemplation of a matter within the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an agency of the United States, knowingly altered, concealed, covered up, and falsified a record with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence the investigation and proper administration of that matter. Specifically, the defendant knowingly altered, concealed, covered up, and falsified a NCPC record by including a false statement in his written report of the arrest…” read the document.
Blackwell worked for the North County Police Cooperative for just over a year until the men started coming forward with their testimonies, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He resigned following the first indictment.
Now, he’s facing 19 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and 17 counts of altering records in a federal investigation. The FBI in the city of St. Louis encouraged anyone to dial 314-589-2682 to reach a hotline for any more people who wish to come forth about their encounters with the former cop.