Former police officer in St. Louis, Missouri, faces a federal investigation after being accused of sexually assaulting eight men he detained or arrested over an eight-month period.
According to a statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri, former Northern District Cooperative Police Officer Marcellis Blackwell — formerly known as Willis Green Overstreet III — was indicted Wednesday on 21 federal charges charging him with sexually abusing men between November. June 8, 2022 and June 5, 2023.
The indictments include 16 counts of statutory deprivation of rights, meaning the intentional deprivation of a person’s right to self-determination over his own body, and five counts of altering records in a federal investigation.
The North County Police Cooperative did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
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Former St. Louis police officer Marcellis Blackwell is accused of sexually assaulting eight men over a six-month period.
North County Police Cooperative
Blackwell, 34, is accused in court documents of detaining and kidnapping eight men in separate incidents and turning off his body camera before fondling their genital areas while they were handcuffed, committing an act of forcible sexual contact.
The indictment also includes an allegation that Blackwell sodomized an inmate with digital penetration in an act of aggravated sexual assault.
Neither victim’s name has been released.
After an initial investigation by the North County Police Cooperative, the St Louis FBI Division began investigating the case.
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“We are not investigating the offense that Blackwell alleged in order to keep his victims,” Jay Greenberg, special agent in charge of the FBI’s St. Louis Division, said in a statement. “Our focus is on Blackwell’s alleged abuse of power to sexually assault his victims. Our goal is to bring justice to victims and provide services to victims.”
The statement said the motion, which seeks to keep Blackwell in jail pending trial, claims he “victimized people he believed were less likely to report his behavior.”
Marcellis was first arrested on June 7 in connection with one of the alleged victims, who claimed to officers that Marcellis touched his genitals without his consent while his hands were handcuffed behind his back while he was being taken into custody on June 3.
At the time, Marcellis was charged with one count of sodomy or attempted sodomy in connection with the alleged incident, KSDK reported. While being held on $500,000 cash-only bail, he pleaded not guilty to the state charges and resigned from the North County Police Cooperative.
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In a statement to KSDK at the time, Maj. Ron Martin said the North County Police Cooperative began investigating Marcellis as soon as it received the allegations. We will hold all our police officers and employees accountable for their actions, he emphasized. “These allegations are very disheartening, but we can reassure the community that we expect the members of this law enforcement agency to perform their duties diligently, transparently, professionally and in accordance with the law.”
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Seven more reported victims came forward from there, according to court documents. The alleged perpetrator’s phone also contained videos of several other unidentified victims.
U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming said in a statement, “We have not yet identified all of the men who appear in the defendant’s phone recordings, and I would like to encourage any potential victims to contact the FBI in St. Louis or the U.S. Attorney’s Office.”
“The behavior described in the indictment is unacceptable for anyone, but even more so for a police officer and when dealing with helpless victims in handcuffs,” Fleming concluded.
Online federal court records do not list Blackwell’s attorney. He has not yet entered a plea and has not made his first appearance.
FBI St. Louis set up a hotline for potential victims of Marcellis Blackwell to come forward with any information. Call (314) 589-2682.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the crisis line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
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Source: HIS Education